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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21 CEDAR FALLS, IA Liberal arts are important 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Swing in the Spring 2
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 37 Acadamy Awards predictions 4 All-Star Game 6
Remembering Justin and Tristan
SOFIA LEGASPI
Campus Life Editor
Over one hundred UNI students and community members gathered at the Campanile to honor the lives of Justin Kime and Tristan Marlow on Monday night, Feb. 18. Kime and Marlow died
after sustaining injuries in a weather-related car accident in Grundy County on Sunday, Feb. 17. Marlow was a senior religion major from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Kime was a senior from Minnesota majoring in management information systems. He was involved with the UNI
Varsity Men’s Glee Club, which sang at Monday’s Campanile vigil. Both Marlow and Klime were heavily involved with St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center and the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization. The car accident occurred while the
students were en route back from the Iowa Rally of College Knights in Des Moines, according to KWWL. Those who knew Justin and Tristan were invited to send in their memories of the two men and the impact they left on their lives. “Tristan and Justin were both incredible friends. Both of them were always there with a smile and a joke to cheer up anyone they could,” wrote Kaelyn Knaack, a junior management information systems major. “Whenever we had a test in one of our classes, [Justin] would text me that morning saying, ‘Good morning, Sunshine! Good luck today!’” Junior leisure, youth and human services major Kyle Skoumal recalled joining Glee Club halfway through the school year and feeling out of place. “[Justin] literally moved a chair into the middle of an aisle so I could sit with him. He made me so feel so welcomed into the brotherhood of Glee,” Skoumal wrote. “He went out of his way to make me feel welcome, something he did tirelessly in his life
to everyone around him.” “He was a type of friend that could be counted on no matter the time of day or however busy he was,” said junior supply chain management major Kyler Yodts. Isaac Neppel, a peer minister at St. Stephen, said he didn’t know the two men as well as others, but described Kime as “the reserved guy in the corner who always looked out for others.” Neppel shared a story he had heard from a friend about Marlow that occurred the Saturday before the accident, illustrating his sense of humor and optimism. “Tristan and Paul were at a dinner,” Neppel wrote. “And as dessert was being served, Tristan came over to Paul and posed the question, ‘Is the life of a Christian meant to serve or be served?’ Paul answered, ‘I have a feeling this is a trick question, but a Christian life should be one of service toward others.’ I can only imagine Tristan’s smile and his response, ‘Then thank you for serving me’ as he took Paul’s dessert.”
relationship between these factors.” That relationship and the knowledge that sleep problems are a common symptom of SAD led to the development of light therapy. In this form of treatment for SAD, patients sit in front of small devices called “light boxes” to increase
their exposure to natural light. College campuses have begun investing in these light boxes, including the University of Iowa, which recently purchased 40 light therapy lamps for students to check out for up to two weeks.
See VIGIL, page 2
Winter weather survival: mental health ELIZABETH KELSEY Staff Writer
From Arctic wind chills to blizzards and ice storms, this semester’s adverse winter weather has driven many students indoors. The lack of exposure to natural light can contribute to a mental health condition known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a “recurrent major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern usually beginning in fall and continuing into winter months,” according to a 2015 article from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Its main symptoms include feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, low energy, lack of concentration and sleep problems. The disorder is estimated to affect approximately 10 million Americans. There are many contributing factors; unfortunately for college women, being young and being female are two of the top culprits. NIMH reports that SAD is diagnosed four times more often in women than men and is most likely to appear in patients in their late
teens and early 20s. Living a greater distance from the equator also plays a role. NIMH notes that nine percent of people in New England or Alaska have SAD, while only one percent of those in Florida do. Regardless of age or hometown, one factor connected with SAD — as well as overall physical wellness — is exposure to natural light. “Light influences circadian rhythms. It influences melatonin. It influences other hormones,” said Gowri Gulwadi, an interior design professor who has conducted research on light, its effects on health and its connection to architectural design. “Circadian rhythms are important for our cycles of sleep and being awake. So, if you think about us on a college campus, we may be unintentionally upsetting those cycles because of staying up late to work on things.” Darcie Davis-Gage, division chair and coordinator of the UNI Counselor Education Program, added that the bluescreen light emitted by smartphones and computers causes the brain to produce chemicals
SOFIA LEGASPI/Northern Iowan
which can throw sleep schedules out of whack. “I think we start seeing all these threads that converge,” Gulwadi said. “We see the impact of light on health, we see the impact of sleep on health, and we see that light and sleep are connected. And so, there’s this very complex interwoven
See WINTER, page 5