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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
CEDAR FALLS, IA
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 34
NISG DEBATE
TALLCORN JAZZ
MEN’S BBALL
NEWS PAGE 3
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
NISG presidential and vice-presidential candidates debate prior to election.
UNI bounces back in Sunday’s game against Valparaiso.
The historic Tallcorn Jazz Festival will take place via Zoom Friday, Feb. 19.
NISG presidential candidates
Bennett and Struck Butt and Hussain ELIZABETH KELSEY Issues such as sustainability, diverNews Editor
Samantha Bennett isn’t running for NISG president in pursuit of fame or fortune. For this third-year actuarial science major with a French studies certificate, the position is all about the chance to better others’ lives.
sity/equity, NISG transparency and expanded course offerings, among others, are prominent. Each prong includes several action items and one particular goal which the pair will prioritize during the first half of their term. Struck and Bennett emphasized the time they dedicated to creating
ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
As candidates for president and vice president of Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG), Muhammad Shamir Butt and Bilal Hussain say they bring “an approach which is different but real” to the race. “We want to start a movement… which brings together all of UNI,” the pair wrote in an email to the Northern Iowan. “Both of us have a resolve, which is to bring the left and the right together in its true sense.” Butt is a senior majoring in political science, while Hussain is a sophomore studying finance and computer science. The two believe that they have the skills necessary to tackle what they see as UNI’s greatest challenge: a sense of “divisions and groupings.” “(Division) prevents us from learning from each other and keeps us
They also plan to promote on-campus events attracting students from many different majors and interests. “We will strive hard to bridge gaps and end divides,” Butt and Hussain wrote. “We realize that this problem is like an equation. If we are to equalize it, both sides have to be considered, and let there be no second thoughts, we will consider both.” Another important aspect of the pair’s platform is mental health, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To address this issue, they hope to make mental health counseling more accessible on campus by making it available within student housing facilities. Finally, they hope to deliver expanded hours from UNI’s dining options. “We are also planning to consider the possibility of providing a space on a campus which is open 24/7 to satisfy your 3 a.m. cravings,” they wrote.
BENNETT AND STRUCK/Courtesy Photo
Candidates Samantha Bennett and Alisanne Struck are campaigning to be NISG president and vice president.
“Whether it be on a personal or a systemic level, I aim to do as much good as I can,” she wrote in an email to the Northern Iowan. “I have learned a lot from the UNI community, and it is a community that has brought me many joys. I would like to do the same in return.” Alisanne Struck, a second-year student studying public relations and political science, is Bennett’s running mate. She said the two are eager to get to work. “Samantha and I truly want to help students and make their lives at this institution better,” Struck wrote. “Our platform is centered around students and finding ways to help them grow through our service to UNI.” Bennett and Struck’s three-pronged platform emphasizes “Advocacy, Accessibility and Academics.” According to their campaign website, they intentionally “pared down” their platform to keep it realistic. “We felt it important to stay grounded and not make students promises we cannot keep, because they deserve leaders who follow through and achieve just what they said they would set out to do,” Bennett wrote.
their platform. “I want students to know how seriously we take this campaign,” Bennett wrote. “We did not take this decision to run lightly, as we understand how much good is capable of being done if this role is carried out effectively, and UNI deserves leaders of quality. Thus, we have gotten to work by meeting with campus leaders, department heads, and deans to ensure our platform is realistic and signed off on by the very people whose collaboration we will need to help get these proposed initiatives realized.” The two believe the most important issue currently facing UNI students is student well-being and mental health. “Students are under a remarkable amount of stress, so it is important that UNI does what it can to alleviate and not contribute to that,” they wrote. “This means making sure our mental health resources are readily and easily accessible, that there are not barriers to students utilizing accessibility services and that the credit/no credit option remains available for the remainder of the pandemic.”
Candidates Muhammad Shamir Butt and Bilal Hussain join the NISG presidential and vice-presidential race.
See BENNETT AND STRUCK, page 2
See BUTT AND HUSSAIN, page 2
BUTT AND HUSSAIN/Courtesy Photo
confined to our own cocoon of familiarity,” they wrote. “The entire point of college is exposure, to open your mind, and see. To learn and to be progressive. We want to remove the obstacles that hinder this process.” To do so, Butt and Hussain propose a platform which emphasizes connection among diverse groups of students. One of the key points of their platform is the formation of a committee to “bring us together as a community of students who look eye to eye and be the seeds that grow up to challenge the norms of this world.”
“If not that, we would try our level best to extend the hours of Biscotti’s.” Both Butt and Hussain bring campus involvement and leadership experience to the NISG presidential and vice-presidential race. Butt has been on the Model UN debate team, served as the Philanthropy Director for Kappa Sigma and interned with the Panther Initiative for Environmental Equity and Resilience (PIEER). He is currently serving as president of the nonprofit group Helping Hands on campus.