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THURSDAY, APRIL 5
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 33
COVID-19
CAMPUS LIFE
MEN’S BBALL
NEWS PAGE 2
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 5
SPORTS PAGE 6
UNI sees a slight increase in the number of cases on campus this week.
UNI Panthers fall to Valparaiso Crusaders in Saturday’s game 57-70.
Film critic Hunter Friesen gives a brief history of presidents in film.
Virtual commencement yields petition CAROLINE CHRISTENSEN Staff Writer
ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
To the disappointment of many spring 2021 graduates, the Office of the Registrar
announced on Thursday, Feb. 11 that spring commencement will once again be held
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA/Courtesy Photo
UNI President Mark Nook addresses graduating students in the Fall 2020 virtual commencement ceremony.
virtually amid COVID-19 concerns. The virtual ceremony is scheduled to take place May 8, and registration for the ceremony will open in the coming weeks. The decision was made “in order to continue to protect our campus community during the pandemic,” according to the campus email announcing the virtual ceremony. “We know this is disappointing, but trust you understand that the health and safety of our graduates along with their family and friends is paramount,” the email read. Senior digital communications major Mili Saliu was disappointed when the announcement was released. She created a petition urging the university to reconsider an in-person graduation ceremony. “I read over the email, and I got really mad when I first read it,” Saliu said. “I had no idea what to do. So, I literally
Googled how to make a petition, and then I did.” Saliu was surprised when the petition started to gain traction on social media. “I wasn’t even expecting to get 25 signatures, much less one thousand signatures in literally less than 24 hours,” Saliu said. “I think a lot of people feel the same way I do. Students work way too hard not to get the recognition that they deserve.” As of press time on Sunday, Feb. 14, Saliu’s petition had over 1,600 signatures. She hopes that it will give students a platform in which to express their ideas to the administration. “UNI always says they advocate for their students, so I just want them to be open to hearing us out,” Saliu said. “I think there are a lot of possible ways we can work on to make (commencement) as safe as possible.”
was named the most diverse city in the nation in 2019. “Community is a collection of people who may or may not have shared values, but in general they have shared values. They are a people who come
together ensuring that they can thrive in social aspects, in economic aspects, educational – people in pursuit of a better life,” McGowan said.
See COMMENCEMENT, page 2
10th annual AAC takes place virtually KAYLA LAWRENCE Staff Writer
This past weekend, the 10th annual African American Children and Families Conference (AAC) took place virtually from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UNI. Sponsored by President Mark Nook, former Vice President and Provost Jim Wohlpartand Dean of the College of Education and Associate Professor Dr. Colleen S. Mulholland, the conference hosted a wide range of panels focusing on centering the Black community in conversations of education, mental health and overall unity. The theme this year was timely and necessary restructuring and reflection on how to better themselves — those in attendance and beyond — and their communities for the benefit of everyone. The conference consisted of ten keynote speakers, the
African American read-in and an abundance of panels and presentations, like the Black Girls Panel or the session simply called “Mindfulness,” which were divided between three different tracks offered to attendees. There was something for everyone between the two youth tracks offered to younger participants (6-9 and 9-12), and the general session. The general track, which was scheduled with 15-minute breaks between each session, had high engagement from early morning until the end of the conference. One such panel that offered guidance for educators of the present and future as well as a new perspective on community was Effua McGowan’s “Building Strong Communities from the People Up.” McGowan, who is the founder of Amazing You, LLC, utilized narratives from her journey in education, which began in Liberia. Her panel
highlighted the importance of educational equity and impact of a unified community. “I’m a firm believer that a community is never successful if you do not take care of the foundation, the most important resource, which is the human resource of community,” she said. McGowan told the story of how her own community, which included her first teacher in the long line of many that followed, came together to support the journey into education that she so desired at the age of three. Using a quote from the former president of Tanzania “Mwalimu” Julius Nyerere, she upheld that the job of a community goes back to the Ten Commandments, being as old as religion itself and falls on the individuals within to honor and help one another. She then expanded upon that smaller idea of community, referencing her present experience in Houston, Texas, which
See CONFERENCE, page 4
AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES CONFERENCE/Courtesy Photo
The African American Children and Families Conference focused on the theme of restructuring and reflection.