2-6-20

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6

BLOOD DRIVE

LifeServe Blood Center hosts spring blood drive in Maucker Union. News PAGE 2

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

VOLUME 116, ISSUE 33

CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

WBB

CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 5

SPORTS PAGE 6

The UNI Panthers edge Valparaiso Crusaders 77-70.

Campus life editor Sofia Legaspi bids farewell.

Caucus results cause delay, confusion ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor

UNI students and community members turned out for the Iowa caucuses, but the caucuses didn’t quite turn out as planned. Technical difficulties with a new app-based reporting system used for the first time this year by the Iowa Democratic Party led to a delay in the results of the first-in-the-nation caucus on Monday, Feb. 3. Partial results were released on Tuesday afternoon, followed by additional results on Wednesday. As of Wednesday evening, with 86% of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg is narrowly leading the state, with Bernie Sanders in a close second and Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden in third and fourth, respectively. However, Buttigieg’s lead is complicated, and not only because results are not yet complete. This year, the Iowa

TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan

A group of Sanders supporters pose for a photo at Maucker Union’s mock caucus on Monday, Jan. 27.

Democratic Party reported not only each candidate’s state delegate equivalents (the percentage of Iowa’s delegates they won) but also their popular-vote numbers in the first and second alignment. And,

though Buttigieg is currently leading Sanders in state delegate equivalents (27% to Sanders’ 25%), Sanders is narrowly ahead of Buttigieg in the two popular-vote counts. The close Democratic

Association President Luma Yasin. “It’s literally a part of who she is and she is proud of it, as she is representing her religion.” The Hijab is a veil worn by some Muslim women in countries where the primary religion is Islam. The type worn most commonly in the west covers the head and neck while leaving the face clear. According to Yasin, the hijab serves different purposes for different people, including a way to demonstrate their religious devotion and freedom of expression. “The primary motivation for wearing the hijab is to obey God as it is a religious commandment, it’s something God has directed us to do,” said Yasin. “Moreover, it serves as a purpose of modesty and covering the beauty of women. However, Muslim females who wear the hijab also develop a personal connection, as many

see it as a kind of empowerment. Just as a woman has the right to show her beauty, she should also have the right to cover it.” Through this event, the Muslim Students Association aimed to address misconceptions about the hijab and about Muslim culture in general, a discrimination Yasin explained is still prevalent in contemporary society. “Muslim women know that the hijab is not a barrier,” said Yasin. “Unfortunately, the rest of the world does not, and that is due to the negative media coverage about Muslim communities and biased beliefs and stereotypes. It is also easy to stay thinking that women who wear hijabs are oppressed when you don’t know anyone personally who owns one.”

race also played out on UNI’s two precinct locations, one in the West Gym and one in the Maucker Union Ballroom. At both locations, hundreds of students and community mem-

bers packed the room to show their support for their candidate of choice. Erin Thomason, a senior Spanish and political science major, served as the precinct chair for the West Gym precinct, which she said was almost entirely made up of UNI students. “It was really high energy, especially being virtually all college students,” she said. “Almost everyone there, it was probably their first caucus, so it was really high energy and a lot of fun to be the one in charge helping to lead it and make sure everything went smoothly.” Both UNI locations awarded nine delegates. At Thomason’s precinct in the West Gym, Sanders received four delegates, Warren three and Buttigieg two, while across campus in the Maucker Union precinct, Sanders received three delegates with Warren, Buttigieg and Klobuchar each earning two. See CAUCUS, page 2

UNI celebrates World Hijab Day ANTHONY WITHEROW Staff Writer

The UNI Muslim Students Association celebrated World Hijab Day on Monday, Feb. 3 by encouraging people of all religions and backgrounds to wear a hijab for the day. Members of the organization set up a booth in Maucker Union to raise awareness and give students hijabs to wear. World Hijab Day is an annual event founded in 2013 by Nazma Khan. The event takes place on Feb. 1 in 140 countries. It is seen as an expression of solidarity and support for religious freedom. “The main takeaway is education and raising awareness of the hijab and to always remember if you see a Muslim female with her hijab on, just know that she has so much more to her experience than the hijab,” said Muslim Students

See HIJAB DAY, page 4

TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan


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