2-09-17 by Northern Iowan

Thursday

/NorthernIowan

February 9, 2017

@NorthernIowan

Volume 113, Issue 35

northerniowan.com

Opinion 3 Campus Life 4 Sports 6 Games 7 Classifieds 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

SLC

Student takes to Facebook to air grievences with CFPD

Students gathered to experience a poverty simulation. CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 4

SLIPPERY SLOPE Columnist says those defending “punching a neo-nazi” are walking slippery slope.

OPINION PAGE 3

GABBY LEITNER/Northern Iowan

Chloe Cumberland, freshman elementary education major, speaks at a press conference Jan. 27. Cumberland posted on Facebook regarding concerns she had with how Cedar Falls Police handled her case. That post went viral, reaching more than 2,000 shares in just a few days.

NICK FISHER

Executive Editor

WRESTLING Panthers fell to Oklahoma but are still undefeated in MAC. SPORTS PAGE 6

A Jan. 24 Facebook post by a UNI student regarding the Cedar Falls Police Department’s handling of her sexual assault case went viral, reaching more than 2,000 shares in just a few days. Chloe Cumberland, a freshman elementary education

GABBY LEITNER/Northern Iowan

Chloe Cumberland, freshman elementary education major, was interviewed by several news organizations at the end of January about her situation.

major, said she was sexually assaulted by an Iowa State University student, who was a former friend, in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2016. She claims the Cedar Falls Police Department (CFPD) were apathetic in handling her case. “It’s like they didn’t care,” Cumberland said. The incident Cumberland said her perpetrator contacted her out of the blue, after not having spoken in more than two years, saying he was going to be in town for the weekend. The two had gone to the same high school in Algona. She said she had offered the man a ride home and place to stay in her dorm after he had been out drinking on the Hill. After picking him up, Cumberland said he wanted to get a hotel room; she ended up driving to Suburban Extended Stay Hotel on Viking Road. She said the man discussed seeing her over Christmas break. He proceeded to give her a back rub — which she said no to — then placed his hands under her shirt and ultimately in her pants.

“The only thing I can remember saying is, ‘No, no, no,’” Cumberland said. “Then I finally got him off of me after trying for so long. I grabbed […] everything and I ran out of there — I was bawling.” She said she drove back to Bender Hall and sat in the dorm shower for two and a half hours. “[I just sat] on the ground, because I felt so disgusting,” Cumberland said. She said she wavered on whether to call the police, and decided to do so two days later after visiting with a Riverview center advocate. She didn’t submit a rape kit because of the time spent in the shower, she said. Police declined to take her clothing from the night of the incident, according to Cumberland. Perceptions of apathy Cumberland said her issues with police began with communication problems — she sent a formal statement to one officer and didn’t receive any response until another officer notified her that it was she who should have received the statement from Cumberland in the

first place. After cooperating with the investigation, Cumberland said things hit a standstill when an officer told her that the accused had “lawyered up” and there was little CFPD could do. “[The police officer] said, ‘We talked to the [county] attorney’s office and there’s just really not enough that we have that we can do, and […] if somebody reports him for something like this in the future that’s how that’s going to happen,’” Cumberland said. She said the officer told her that if no one else accuses the same man in the future they would “pretty much” do nothing about her case. Cedar Falls Police Chief Jeff Olson told the NI on Feb. 8 that, since the Facebook post, CFPD had been in contact with Cumberland on a weekly basis regarding her case. He stressed that police cannot meet with a suspect if an attorney denies their request, and that sexual assault cases are “very difficult” because there are rarely witnesses. See CUMBERLAND, page 2

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NEWS

JACOB MADDEN News Editor

ISA brings Valentine’s dance FEBRUARY 9, 2017

ALLISON MAZZARELLA

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

The Valentine’s dance is a way to get the international community involved with American culture. While ISA plans numerous events that specialize in bringing culture to UNI, this particular dance is special in that it is a way for international students to celebrate a holiday that isn’t celebrated in their countries. This is Varma’s third year being involved in ISA and the committee that organizes the annual dance. “We’ve always had the executive team choosing what kind of team we have,” Varma said. “After [we choose], we get back to the members and separate them into different com m it te es — de corat ion , planning, advertising.” Each of these different committees that make up ISA then bring ideas back to the table, and the executive team

hears from them on what they want. The planning starts once the team makes an executive decision. “As an executive team, we have to initially decide when we want [the dance] to be, and make sure that all of our schedules will be in sync,” Varma said. “And then once we got that done, we just popped up a few names, and took it to the members to see what they wanted. And all of us came to a good consensus of ‘Midnight Under the Moon’ being the theme.” Diksha Ojha, ISA director of activities, explained the idea behind the name. “This was a theme that was done four or five years ago, when none of these students that we have here now would have been there,” Ojha said. “And from what I heard, that was very popular. We just brought it back so that

people could experience that again.” Midnight Under the Moon is for everybody and anybody, and Varma encourages all students to go. “Not everybody goes out Friday night, but if they want to do something, this is a good thing to do—it’s on campus, it’s near all the dorms and it’s just a fun time to be with people,” Varma said. “There is going to be a DJ there, so it will be professional music, not one of us playing a random playlist.” Varma also pointed out, “We don’t have a dress requirement, but we are recommending that you wear a semi-formal attire.” Although the central focus of the event is to introduce international students to American culture, Varma noted that, “The international community is also there.

So if you want to meet people, that’s an exciting place to do it.” Ojha agrees that one of her favorite parts about this dance is the meshing of cultures. She said that in the past, one of the student’s favorite parts was the DJ and open dance floor. “From the international student’s side, they can request their favorite songs,” Ojha said. Ojha further noted that at the Halloween dance, which functions the same purpose as the Valentine’s dance, international students brought their cultural music to the dance. “The DJ was playing songs from different countries, and people were still enjoying it even though they did not understand the language,” Ojha said. “They were learning from each other.”

“I would say the only reason they are revisiting [my case] is because I posted on Facebook and they are getting contacted by people,” Cumberland said. Olson said Cumberland had been informed about the status of her case at the time he responded to emails from the public. Williams would not comment on Cumberland’s case specifically but acknowledged that, hypothetically, information such as what Olson shared would be “confusing” for the public to receive — it may be difficult for someone not schooled in law to understand the message. Williams said it may be a matter of getting “caught up in the semantics.” Police may ask the informal opinion of the county attorney’s office on the evidence as it stands in a given case, but the ultimate decision to pursue a case in court falls on his office rendering a formal opinion, according to Williams. Olson agreed, and commented on the email he sent

to Fischer. “Some people say, ‘Well, there’s some confusion there.’ And I think, I reread my email, and it all but said the case is closed,” Olson said. “Which that doesn’t necessarily mean the case is ‘closed.’ When do you ‘close’ a case? When do you ‘reopen’ it? Do you ever close it? You may have a homicide case that you never really ‘close.’”

‘Confusing’ emails An NI investigation found that after Cumberland posted on Facebook, a UNI graduate student, Kelly Fischer, reached out to city officials to voice her concerns. At the time, Fischer was a stranger to Cumberland and had only seen her Facebook post. Among those contacted by Fischer were Olson and Black Hawk County Attorney Brian Williams. The emails contained what was perceived as conflicting information. Fischer read the emails

to the NI. One, from Olson on Jan. 25, said, “I can tell you the County Attorney reviewed the case and said charges are not appropriate in this case.” Fischer contacted Williams after speaking with Olson and received a message from Williams that said, “Any assertions that the Black Hawk County attorney declined prosecution is incorrect. We will not make that decision in any sexual assault until after an entire case is provided and we have the opportunity to meet with the victim and their advocate.” Fischer said she received an unprompted email from Olson saying that the case is still under review. Fischer was in contact with the family about the emails and said they were frustrated. “I don’t feel like that information about my case should be released just to some stranger,” Cumberland said at a press conference Jan. 27. “She’s getting more updates than I am.”

and assuring that we can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.” “I think communication is […] really maybe the key thing,” Fischer said. “It reduces trauma, it helps people figure out how to make sense of the system, it helps people dialogue when there’s disagreement. It’s the most important element of this, and when that breaks down her trauma is continuing. It didn’t end when her attacker left […] she’s still being traumatized when she has these kinds of barriers.” Olson said it’s unfortunate that the communication may have caused problems, but he said his office needs to be truthful about specific cases. Cumberland said the incident did not affect her feeling safe at UNI because the incident didn’t occur on campus. “I think he needs to be charged with sexual assault,” Cumberland said at the press conference. “He’s sitting at a campus with 33,000 other kids […] he could sexually assault anybody.”

NORTHERN IOWAN

EDITORIAL STAFF

CIRCULATION

JACOB MADDEN

RILEY SCHULTEJANS

CLINTON OLSASKY

PRODUCTION STAFF

DYLAN PADY

Senior Production Typesetter Webmaster

IRIS FRASHER

Production Graphics

Staff Writer

This Friday, February 10, students will have the opportunity to join the International Student Association (ISA) at the Old Central Ballroom for a Valentine’s dance called “Midnight Under the Moon” – a night featuring music, dance, food and prizes. The event, which starts at 8 p.m., is free and open to all students. ISA plans three to four big events annually, and while the theme changes every year, the Valentine’s dance is always one of them. “One of the reasons we started doing this [dance], is because, as an international student and community, we don’t always have the option of celebrating Valentine’s day,” said Harsha Varma, ISA vice president.

CUMBERLAND

continued from page 1

“We are not apathetic,” Olson said. “It’s one of the most serious cases we can work, a sexual assault is […] but frequently there is no physical evidence, how do you come to a conclusion? If you have a case where it’s ‘she says this’ and ‘he says that’ and there’s nothing else there, except the two statements, how do you determine whether it occurred or not?”

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I would say the only reason they are revisiting my case is because I posted on Facebook — Chloe Cumberland Freshman

“At this point, it’s been [two months since the incident] and we’re still not to a conclusion,” Olson said. “We’ll probably, eventually get to one.” “The review process, it sometimes takes longer than you’d think,” Williams said. “Our objective is protection of the victim, future victims 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 © 2016 by the Northern Iowan and may not be used without permission.

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FEBRUARY 9, 2017

OPINION

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

PAGE 3

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

The future of Obamacare This week, Senators Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz held a debate on CNN regarding the future of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and of health care in general in the United States. Regardless of your political leanings, the debate was excellent for democracy. The debate featured two politicians who respected each other and treated each other with civility. There were no personal insults or name calling in this debate. Instead, we got 90 minutes of substantive policy debate, good talking points and a real exchange of ideas. I commend CNN on hosting this debate, and I hope they and other media outlets hold similar debates in the future to discuss the issues facing our country. Obamacare has seen a large uptick in popularity since President Obama left office as the prospect of repeal became realistic. Poll after poll has shown the majority of Americans favor keeping Obamacare around or reforming the law; relatively few want to see the full repeal of the law. Republican lawmakers have been taken aback by the upsurge in Obamacare’s popularity, and have backtracked on their promises to immediately repeal the law. President Trump recently admitted that repeal may not

take place until 2018 at the earliest. Prominent Republican lawmakers, including Orrin Hatch and Lamar Alexander, have changed their tone to repairing Obamacare rather than repealing it. What most Americans can agree on is that immediately repealing the law without a replacement is a disastrous idea. Former President Obama has told President Trump that if the Republicans come up with a plan that is better than Obamacare, then Obama will publicly support the plan. Several reports and interviews over the past several weeks have made it clear that Republicans are nowhere close to such a plan for now. Firstly, while Republicans may be increasingly abandoning their hopes a complete repeal, they are still going to try to kill the law. The first option is a gradual chipping away of the law, quietly rolling back provisions of Obamacare, and maybe or maybe not replacing it with a Republican written provision. The other option is that Republicans do nothing to update the law, or repeal popular provision while leaving unpopular provisions untouched. Essentially shanking the law on the side, letting the law bleed out while public opinion tanks and then repealing the law. While we have been focused on preventing the immediate repeal, we must also be on the lookout for the long-con. The discussion we should be having is not “how do we dismantle Obamacare,” we should

be having a discussion on we significantly expand the law, far beyond its original intentions. I strongly believe Obamacare should be expanded into a single payer, Medicare for all universal healthcare program. The idea was a central focus of the Sanders campaign, the idea that healthcare should be a right to all Americans. The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution states that just because a right is not listed in the Constitution, does not mean it is not a right held by the people. The right to healthcare ought to be one of these rights. Under a system of universal healthcare, from the moment you are born to the second you die you are guaranteed health coverage. No more dealing with private health insurance companies; it is time to create a system in which the main goal of health care is taking care of people, not making a profit. Health care falls into a category of services in which there should be no profit motive, and is instead handled by government for the public good. Many services in our society are handled this way; the military, police, firefighters, and public schools. It is time for healthcare to lose the profit motives and join those ranks. The United States is one of the few major industrialized countries to not have universal healthcare. Contrary to Ted Cruz’s individual anecdotes on bad experiences with health services, overall these systems work well, are efficient and the people are greatly satisfied.

I had a social media debate a couple of weeks ago. Ok, fine, it’s probably the twentieth debate I’ve had this year already, not exactly remarkable for me. I was debating with a friend of mine over the then-recent filmed punching of Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute and increasingly infamous figurehead associated with the altright. My friend was actually arguing that it is morally acceptable, even necessary, to initiate an assault against people for the crime of holding certain political views (specifically ones that allow or call for discriminatory treatment of others based on genetic traits) and especially for daring to communicate them publically. This was disturbing enough, as the entire point of maintain-

ing a free marketplace of ideas is to hash out honest disagreements and eventually arrive at a consensus over public decisions without resorting to violence at all. But one particular horror came from a single comment by my friend’s girlfriend. She was apparently disturbed that we would not stand for unprovoked assault against another human being (which is what it was), saying, “I can’t imagine trying this hard to defend a neo-Nazi. The mental gymnastics must be exhausting. Yikes.” Notice that she didn’t say “…defend a neo-Nazi shooting up a school”; she simply said, “…defend a neo-Nazi.” No limits, no qualifiers, no conditions. To her, the crime of merely being a neo-Nazi (which I’m assuming for argument’s sake is a fair characterization of Spencer’s views) was enough to make anything that person says or does indefensible, and that anything said or done to that person somehow needs no defense. As though Spencer is

not a human being with inalienable rights. As though Spencer or anyone else who thinks like he does somehow forfeits their right to be safe from abuse and harassment by virtue of their speech alone. This was not an isolated conversation, either. Not only has Spencer himself been assaulted a second time, but other prominent figures associated with the alt-right have been targeted for physical abuse and harassment for the simple crime of expressing their opinions, that is, of exercising the right to speak freely guaranteed to them by federal and state constitutional law. This isn’t even limited to public figures. At U.C.-Berkeley last week, a woman wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap was trying to attend conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopolous’s speech when she was pepper-sprayed by a masked rioter. A Syrian national was attacked by another rioter because he, “…look[ed] like a Nazi.”

Tribune News Service

US Sen. Ted Cruz (above) and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (below) this week debated the Affordable Care Act and the future of healthcare in America. Dausener addresses the future of “Obamacare.”

Per capita, the United States spends triple what the United Kingdom does on healthcare, and double of what France pays. Over 80 percent of Canadians believe their health care system is superior to the American system. Universal healthcare programs are popular in every country they are adopted in. The idea is picking up steam in the US; a recent poll showed 54 percent of Americans supported the idea, 29 percent

opposed and 16 percent were not sure. It is reasonable to believe most of the remaining 16 percent would support the idea if given a well-thought out, rational argument for the idea. It’s time to remove the profit motive from healthcare, and guarantee it as a right to all Americans. Instead of dismantling Obamacare, lets significantly expand it and provide healthcare as right as every other major industrialized country has done.

Why is this significant? American progressives claim to be proverbial knights against hatred. It is they who (often rightfully) call attention to bigotry and intolerance in our world. They prioritize protection for all people (regardless of race, gender and other characteristics) against maliciousness and injustice. In fact, all of these assaults, protests, demonstrations, etc., are done for the stated purpose of working against hatred and intolerance. But these assaults, and the verbalized defense or downplaying of such (looking at you, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin), reveal that progressives are not actually against hatred itself, or even intolerance. Not in principle. Rather, when push comes to shove, there is a (perhaps small but) growing segment of the American left that is perfectly willing to be as hateful, intolerant, vicious and even violent as deemed necessary, provided that only certain kinds of people are

targeted for such malevolence. Those who claim the loudest to be the champions of the “other” not only are guilty of “otherizing” to an extreme as to justify violence, but also consider articulated challenge against their “otherizing” to be “exhausting mental gymnastics” on the part of those who refuse to fall off the edge of the cliff with them, including true liberals like Bill Maher and Dave Rubin. Truth be told, I’d rather not spend column inches “defending a neo-Nazi.” But this pattern of thought and action is too dangerous to go unchallenged. Left unchecked, it is a far greater threat to America’s social order than Spencer and the alt-right could ever dream of posing. If there are certain views that we can violently silence, then, in principle, there is no view that we cannot violently silence. That’s a risk no American should be willing to accept. If you are, then, at the very least, stop calling yourself a liberal.

‘Violently silencing’ views slippery slope

PAGE 4

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

CAMPUS LIFE NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

CLINTON OLSASKY Campus Life Editor

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

Students undergo poverty simulation ALLYN OXLEY Staff Writer

On Monday, February 6, students gathered in the Maucker Union Ballroom to participate in the first night of the Give, Serve, Lead Conference. Sammi Bennett, leadership executive of Service and Leadership Council (SLC) organized the conference with the rest of the council to ensure that students receive the best experience in learning how to become a better citizen and leader in the Cedar Valley community and beyond. The first night of the conference, the “Give” night, put students through a poverty simulation in order to experience the different trials and struggles one faces in poverty. According to Bennett, the simulation was organized as a game where students were provided with a card indicating their identity (their finance, health, living situation, etc.). Throughout the simulation, students faced different circumstances that would require them to place themselves into the reality of pov-

erty to make crucial decisions in order to stay afloat. All the while, students quickly became aware of just how tedious and stressful this game can be. The game was organized into three 10 minute sessions where students were placed into the role of a person living in poverty. “It’s kind of to show people what the decisions you have to make underneath stress of poverty because you obviously can’t make every decision you want to do,” Bennett said. “And then stuff is going to get thrown at you that you have no control over that you sort of have to roll with.” To imitate the unexpected, fleeting aspects of life in this game, Bennett explained that throughout the simulation, there would be “flash announcements,” in which students would be given a situation where they would have to change plans and quickly react with a solution to the situation with the limited resources they were given. “For us, it’s really important because the purpose of this Give night is supposed to be reasons for why people should give back – why people

should volunteer,” Bennett said. “We want to show a lot because a lot of students here don’t necessarily really know what living in poverty even looks like – what people that live in poverty go through […] We want to show a little glimpse into everyone’s […] lives, so people can understand it better and understand why giving back and volunteering is so important in the U.S. and to give back to these people who are in need of help.” Addy Foertsch, sophomore history major, was in attendance on Monday night. Foertsch said she was attending after a recommendation from her Cornerstone peer mentor. “[I was] looking to get more involved on campus,” Foertsch said. “So this sounded like a great way to step into it.” For other students like Foertsch who may be looking to get more involved on campus, the Give, Serve, Lead Conference will continue on Feb. 13 and 20. The “Serve” night will be held on Feb. 13 and will be set up for students wanting to help complete service projects for different groups in the Cedar Valley

GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

The Service and Leadership Council hosted the first event of their threepart Give, Serve, Lead series on Monday in the Maucker Union Ballroom.

community. According to Bennett, students will be able to choose a project and come and go as they please. “We’re going to do tie blankets and dog toys for the homeless shelter and the humane society,” Bennett said. “We’re going to do game kits to give to the boys and girls club and personal care kits.” The last night of the conference, the “Lead” night, will provide students with different ways to approach leadership and shared personal experiences from UNI faculty members. The students

in attendance will be able to ask questions of these faculty members and gain a better understanding of what it means to be a leader. Staci Schmeling, senior mathematics teaching major, was in attendance on Monday night. Schmeling signed up for all three events in the conference and is especially looking forward to the Lead night. “I signed up for the other sessions too because the last one is education, and I’m an education major,” Schmeling said. “So I thought it would be good to get insight from teachers.”

CLINTON OLSASKY Campus Life Editor

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

PAGE 5

CAMPUS LIFE NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

FILM REVIEW

Dog flick screws the pooch CLINTON OLSASKY

Campus Life Editor

Picture this: a couple of screenwriters walk into a film producer’s office and pitch an idea for a new movie about a dog who dies over and over again, only to be reincarnated into a different dog each time it dies. The screenwriters explain that this cycle would repeat itself a few times until the movie just, sort of, ends. But wait, there’s more! The dog, who can also talk, is voiced by the snowman from Disney’s “Frozen.”

The new comedy-drama “A Dog’s percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now, if you think that this sounds like an absolutely ridiculous premise for a movie, you’d be right. However, it apparently wasn’t too ridiculous to prevent Amblin Entertainment from unleashing the recently released monstrosity of a film known simply as “A Dog’s Purpose.” The film in question follows the story of Bailey the talking dog, who profoundly impacts his various owners over the span of multiple lifetimes as he continues to be reincarnated into different dog breeds each time he dies. Unfortunately, the sheer originality (or rather stupidity) of this inexplicably farfetched plot is not enough to save “A Dog’s Purpose” from being a total cinematic failure. Directing: 2/5 “A Dog’s Purpose” is directed by Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallstrom, who has helmed such critically acclaimed films as “My Life as a Dog” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” However, the technical acumen with which Hallstrom directed those films is conspicuously absent in “A Dog’s Purpose.” Now, “A Dog’s Purpose” isn’t a poorly shot film by any means. In fact, there are a number of rather beautiful establishing shots of both rural and urban landscapes sprinkled throughout the

film. The real problem with the film is how conventional it all looks – despite the wholly unconventional (and admittedly absurd) premise. Hallstrom frames most of his characters in traditional waist-up medium shots and utilizes close-ups at the most cliché, overly sentimental moments. Yes, Hallstrom does jump to POV shots to imitate the dog’s visual perspective at times, but even that comes across as hackneyed. To put it bluntly, the only truly memorable shot in the entire film is what can only

planet’s ozone layer. Whether it’s Bailey’s curious tendency to inhabit the body of another dog well after that dog has already been born or the inconsistent aging of numerous characters, “A Dog’s Purpose” seems to be less concerned with plausibility than even the most over-thetop Marvel superhero movie. Acting: 1/5 To put it simply, the acting on display in “A Dog’s Purpose” set a new low for acting mediocrity everywhere. Throughout the film, it appeared that the entire cast was competing with one another to deliver the most bland, ineffective and nauseatingly sentimental performance of the film. The film’s cast largely consisted of relatively unknown actors, and thanks to their uninspired perfor mances, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE they are likely to Purpose” currently carries a “rotten” score of 35 remain unknown to general audiences for the forebe described as a “nose cam” seeable future. shot. In this shot, the camOne of the only “big era cuts to a shot from inside names” in the film was Bailey’s nose without any Dennis Quaid, whose once explanation, and the viewer somewhat respectable career sees what Bailey is looking has been effectively “put at through the dog’s nos- down” due to his ham-fisted trils. performance. Writing: 1/5 Lastly, similar criticism Not only is “A Dog’s should be directed towards Purpose” visually unoriginal Josh Gad (of “Frozen” fame), (besides the aforementioned whose voice-over portrayal “nose cam”), but the film’s of Bailey the dog serves as screenplay is filled with the film’s proverbial death more formulaic plot points knell. and cringe-worthy dialogue It is not at all an exaggerthan a Hallmark Channel ation to say that the acting Christmas movie marathon. put forth by the various dogs The dialogue for Bailey, who that portray Bailey in the speaks solely via voice-over film was far and away better narration, is especially hor- than their human counterrendous. parts. However, the artificial Nearly all of Bailey’s tone of voice and insipid dialogue seems to revolve cadence with which Gad around the fact that he delivers Bailey’s lines effecdoesn’t understand what tively cancels out the canine most human actions mean – actors’ inherent charm. such as when Bailey assumes Overall: his owner is looking for food In short, “A Dog’s in his girlfriend’s mouth Purpose” is an offensive film whenever he kisses her. on multiple levels. As an The screenwriters re-use unabashed dog lover, I found various iterations of this the repeated inclusion of same, tired joke over and dog deaths for cheap sentiover until the attempt at ment to be both exploitative humor not only fails to con- and shameful. As a movie nect with the viewer, but lover, the film offered nothalso borders on utter annoy- ing worthwhile in terms of ance. either cinematic or narrative In addition to the unbear- grounds. In fact, “A Dog’s able dialogue, “A Dog’s Purpose” seemed to ultiPurpose” also offers an over- mately serve no purpose at abundance of plot holes. all. Indeed, it seems that one can poke more holes in the film’s screenplay than in the

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PAGE 6 DYLAN PADY Sports Editor

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

SPORTS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

Panthers drop close one on road BRENNAN WHISLER

Sports Writer

The women’s basketball team let a close victory slip away Sunday afternoon. The Panthers traveled to Southern Illinois to take on the Salukis. They were unable to repeat their previous 30-point win, and lost with a final score of 64-69. This is UNI’ second loss in nine days, and the last time that happened was first week of December. The game started off well, as the Panthers took a 10-7 lead halfway through the first quarter and eventually created a 36-21 half-

time score. The first half saw UNI shoot 46 percent to SIU’s 43 percent; the Salukis also hit half of their threes, but only attempted four. By contrast UNI went 5-9 themselves; four came from senior guard Madison Weekly, whose only made shots came from downtown. The third quarter was a little back and forth as SIU was able to whittle the score down to 50-43. While Weekly received some bench minutes, she was also held scoreless from the field. The fourth quarter started as UNI tried to viciously defend their lead by getting

to the line early. A fastbreak layup saw SIU finally tie the game 56-56 with four minutes left. Weekly’s lone second half make from deep gave UNI a threepoint lead and their last points of the game. SIU permanently took the lead at the 1:50 mark. The total offense was led by Weekly with 19 points and an assist. She was closely followed by sophomore guard Ellie Herzberg who had 18 points and an assist, but added an offensive rebound as well. Senior forward Hannah Schonhardt led on the boards with eight rebounds, followed by freshman Megan Maahs

with seven. In a rarity this season, Weekly was off the court for more than five minutes, as compared to her average of 33 minutes a game. The biggest problems from this game occurred on defense, as UNI allowed 52 percent shooting for the game. Followed by the fact that the Panthers had 10 assists to 10 turnovers, they were simply unable to find the open shot. The third problem came in Weekly’s offense; she is a good shooter, but much of her game is from driving and drawing fouls. She reached the line twice on Sunday; luckily,

she made up for it with five threes. These are all new problems for the Panthers and luckily won’t come up again. UNI will be back at home this Friday and Sunday against Bradley and Illinois State. Both teams are towards the bottom of the Missouri Valley and likely won’t cause too much trouble. The big problem this loss forced on the Panthers is that even if they win out, they won’t automatically be co-champions or better. They now need Drake to lose once, not including to UNI, and win out. This isn’t impossible, but the team needs to be prepared.

Alber, Taylor Lujan, Drew Foster and Jacob Holschlag. Alber secured the only Panther shut-out of the evening, clinching a 7-0 decision over his Oklahoma rival at 133 lbs. After taking a few teamhits, Lujan stormed the mat, notching six takedowns and earning the only UNI major decision of the night with a final score of 17-7. Following Lujan’s momentum, Foster notched a 10-3 decision from the 184-lb bout — giving the team an additional three points. In the final individual duel of the night, Holschlag led the team out with a 9-5 decision, fighting from the 197-lb bout. This Friday is senior

night, with five UNI Panthers being honored at 7 p.m.: Jared Bartel, JJ Everard, Cooper Moore, Dylan Peters and Tyler Willers. With the Panthers since 2012, Bartel has notched an impressive :56 quick fall for the Panthers, accumulated a 33-26 overall record and has competed all five years that he has been on the team. In addition to these marks, Bartel took sixth in the MAC Championships in 2014. Even through taking on several nationally ranked competitors this season, Everard has been instrumental in the winning streak that UNI has seen this year. Starting from a 5-20 record his freshman year, Everard

has completely reversed his standings — finishing 20-4 last season, alone. Moore will also be leaving the team this season. Although unable to compete most of the season, Moore has left an incredible imprint on the UNI wrestling team and has always been a rock for the entire team. He was a MAC Champion twice, NCAA qualifier three times, 18-1 career MAC dual record, 27-5 dual record and a 67-23 overall career record, a spectacle of a career. Another Panther who has made a major impact on the Panther wrestling team is Peters. Accruing several awards throughout the years, he attained one MAC

Championship and two second place finishes, is a three time NCAA qualifier and placed sixth overall last year. Peters also made the UNI records twice, tying for fourth in most falls during a single season and sixth among all Panthers for most career falls. Peters also holds a MAC dual record of 18-1, holding a 34-3 overall dual record and total career record of 75-18, supporting his team well throughout his career. Willers has also been with the team since 2012, and holds a 12-6 pin record in addition to his career quick fall of :53. Willers has been influential in the open meets that the team competes in, holding several top notches across the board.

Wrestling seniors approach final meet ZACHARIAH HUNTLEY Sports Writer

Writer’s note: Thank you, senior Panthers, for all your years of hard work and dedication to the wrestling team; it has been an honor to support you. After a long run in the spotlight, the Panther wrestlers fell to Oklahoma this past Sunday, 13-27, in the McLeod Center. The Sooners, ranked No. 15 in the nation, dropped UNI’s season record to 9-3, but the Panthers remain undefeated in the MidAmerican Conference (MAC) at 6-0 overall this season. Holding their ground at home were wrestlers Josh

Upcoming Home Sports Schedule 2/10 Wrestling vs University of Buffalo (Senior Day) @ 7 pm, West Gym 2/10 WBB vs Bradley (wear pink) @ 7pm, McLeod Center 2/12 WBB vs Illinois State (Girl Scout Day) @ 2pm, McLeod Center

IRIS FRASHER/Northern Iowan

Seniors Jared Bartel, JJ Everard, Cooper Moore, Dylan Peters and Tyler Willers will be celebrated at senior night this Friday.

2/15 MBB vs Bradley @ 7pm, McLeod Center

PAGE 7

FUN & GAMES

HANNAH GIBBS Managing Editor

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 |

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For rent large 3 bdrm duplex. Air, free laundry. Newly painted. 1330 Delta available June 1. $885/mo. 319-266-5480 or text 319-290-0335 or wallace585@gmail.com For Rent: Available May 15. 2 bdrm duplex, offstreet parking, utilities included. 1 block from UNI. Rent negotiable. 319-277-2504

WANTED Female roommate wanted for 2 bdrm apt. 1 block from campus on Olive St. Looking for immediate occupancy or on June 1. $295/ mo. Heat and electricity included. 319-721-7733.

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM |

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

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Crossword Across 1 Subj. for a non-native speaker 4 __-top: Beatles’ style 7 Much of “Star Wars” FX 10 Clumsy type 13 __ Michele, 8-Down co-star 14 “The Princess Diaries” princess 15 Tetris shape 16 Sporty truck, briefly 17 War film with a cast of 60-Across? 21 “Rock and Roll All __”: Kiss hit 22 Reckon 23 Custardy dessert 24 Thrown for a loop 26 Cool, once 27 Campus groups 28 Newspaper with a staff of 60-Across? 31 Dough for ramen? 32 Square __ 33 Traveler’s aid 37 “Hamlet, thou art slain” speaker 42 Political __ 43 Big name in big tractors 44 1969 hit song by a group of 60-Across? 50 Write in code? 51 Actress Ramirez of “Grey’s Anatomy”

55 __ d’Alene 56 Mideast sultanate 60 Off-putting sorts? 63 Pie choice 64 Like bread knives 65 Well-to-do 66 Unpredictable Down 1 Twisty-horned antelope 2 Photo app effect 3 Founder of Taoism 4 Sport for Ronda Rousey, for short 5 Aromatherapy array 6 Outmoded public convenience 7 Center of moral corruption 8 TV show with mashups 9 Down with something 10 Wanted one 11 Bothered a lot

12 Fronded plants 18 Mediocre marks 19 Sonnet, e.g. 20 Do maintained with a pick 25 Kids’ summer activity 27 “Another word for nothin’ left to lose,” in a Joplin hit 29 __ Aviv 30 Genetic messenger molecule 33 The Scooby gang’s Mystery Machine, e.g. 34 Ode preposition 35 Spell 36 QB’s mishap 38 Dream state letters 39 Technical foul signal, in basketball 40 West ender? 41 Place 45 Centipede home? 46 Stimulated

47 “Oh, now __ it!” 48 All-in-one vacation 49 Eliot’s weaver 51 Canned meat used in Hawaiian cuisine 52 “The Good Dinosaur” dinosaur 53 Reddish horse 54 Source of cartoon explosives 56 Other, south of the border 57 Castle defense 58 Basic class with easels 59 Tiny time pd. 61 Siegfried collaborator 62 PDX info: Abbr.

Crossword

PAGE 8

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

HANNAH GIBBS Managing Editor

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35

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