NISG January updates

Between chatting with Iowa’s legislators under the golden dome of the state capitol to rocking out with karaoke during NISG Engagement Week, your Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) representatives have stayed busy during the month of January and beginning of February. Read on below to see everything NISG has been up to.

NI STAFF administrators like President Nook and community officials like Mayor Rob Green attending to chat with students.

NISG’s De-Stress Event in collaboration with Student Wellness Services also saw great engagement, and a Self Defense and Safety Class led by Senei Mustafić helped students learn introductory self defense skills.

Campaigns kicking off

MLK Dedication

The third demand on the list was to have a dormitory named after Martin Luther King, or a new classroom building named after him. The fifth demand was to conduct a drive for funds to add to a Martin Luther King scholarship.

As most UNI students know, both of these never happened. The University of Northern Iowa has 10 current affiliated residences for students, and none of them were ever dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is a tribute to King in Lang Hall, commemorating the time that he spoke there. However, that is the most permanent commemoration that King or any other members

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The scholarship opportunities available to Black and marginalized students on UNI’s campus can be significantly improved. Loveless explains that there is not a stable scholarship for marginalized students yet, but she hopes there will be a larger and better one.

“My goal is to work with senior leadership to ensure that we bring a scholarship for our marginalized students to fruition,” Loveless said.

Increasing Black Faculty

The number of Black faculty on campus has always been a topic of discussion, as the number of current Black faculty is

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NISG Engagement Week

For the first time in three years, NISG hosted an Engagement Week aimed to connect with the UNI campus community, and spread awareness about NISG elections.

Students were able to chat with NISG members, learn more about Green Dot initiative, the Textbook Equity Initiative, the Legislative Liaison Team and Gender and Sexuality Services while playing UNI Trivia, eat some Chad’s Pizza and win some great prizes from local businesses.

NISG would like to thank the Campus Activities Board along with Square One Vintage, Raygun, Mohair Pear, Big Acai, the UNI Bookstore, Driftless Style, George’s Local and Vinyl Cup Records for making the launch event possible.

NISG’s Open House Event was also successful, with UNI not as high as it should be.

“We need more Black and marginalized faculty on campus to support our marginalized students,” Loveless said. “Students need to see someone who looks like them.”

For the Black and marginalized faculty that is present on UNI’s campus, there tends to be a large turnover rate and keeping them at the university is a struggle. Gwennette Berry, the chief diversity officer at UNI, said, “We have reviewed various methods for recruiting and retaining more faculty of color but it simply hasn’t been successful, but we aren’t sure why. We know this is an area we must work on.”

Berry also detailed how part of her position is helping departments identify methods that will help them find and hire

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Campaign season has officially begun! Students running for senate, president and vice president have started to collect signatures to get on the ballot.

Join NISG for the Presidential Debates Feb. 15 in the Maucker Union Ballrooms, and be sure to vote myUniverse from 6 a.m. Feb. 21 to 6 p.m. Feb. 22. Click the Life@UNI tab and go to the Voting and Surveys box to cast your vote.

Legislative Liaison Team (LLT) faculty of color. It is an ongoing process, but Berry knows that it is extremely important to the marginalized students on campus.

UNI’s LLT led by the Director of Governmental Relations, Noah Hackbart, kicked off the legislative session in Des Moines during their first visit at the capitol in January. LLT seeks to advocate for UNI’s campus community on the state level. UNI Day at the Capitol, an all day event aimed to connect UNI with legislators, is set to take place Feb. 14.

“We’ll have to hire differently, finding ways to make our environment one where traditionally marginalized populations feel welcomed,” Berry said.

Where the CME is at Now

When the Afro-American Society dissolved in 1972, the Black Student Union (BSU) was formed, and is still active on campus today. They play a critical role in providing a sense of community for Black students at UNI, and host a lot of the events during Black History Month.

 See SIX PROPOSALS, page 8

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