4-18-19

FACEBOOK.COM/NORTHERNIOWAN

WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA

CEDAR FALLS, IA

TWITTER & INSTAGRAM: @NORTHERNIOWAN

THURSDAY, APRIL 5

THURSDAY, APRIL 18 CEDAR FALLS, IA NISG cabinet members 2 Importance of political discussion 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50 ‘Serse’ review 4 Women’s MVC golf 6

UNI alum brings documentary to Lang ELIZABETH KELSEY Staff Writer

“Every single person will walk out of this place completely changed,” said UNI alum Vanessa McNeal, addressing the packed Lang Hall Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Monday night. The crowd of students, alumni and community members had come to experience the free screening of McNeal’s documentary “Gridshock: A Film About Sex Trafficking in Iowa.”

“We know this is a global issue; we know this is a national issue,” said Alan Heisterkamp, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at UNI. “And we’re going to see in a few minutes how it’s happening right here in Iowa as well.”

McNeal said she was drawn to the issue after hearing a class presentation about the sex trafficking epidemic while pursuing her master’s degree in social work (MSW) at UNI. She also has personal connections to the issue, having been sexually abused, neglected and sexually assaulted at a young age.

“I spent so many years trying to find wholeness in my life,” she said.

After completing her MSW, she founded her media company, McNeal Media, in 2017, and produced her first award-winning documentary, “The Voiceless,” which focused on male sexual assault survivors. “Gridshock” is her most recent project.

To fund the film’s production, from December 2017 to February 2018, McNeal and her team set a 60-day, allor-nothing goal of $35,000 on indiegogo.com If the goal wasn’t met in that time frame, all donations would be returned “and we wouldn’t be standing here today,” she said.

Thanks to over 300 donors, the team reached their goal, and spent the last year producing Gridshock, a 55-minute film that explores “what [sex trafficking] really is, who it benefits and who it targets.”

The film featured interviews with three survivors of sex trafficking, as well as politicians, advocates, law enforcement and a recovering sex addict. One of the

GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

UNI alum Vanessa McNeal screened her documentary Gridshock: A Film About Sex Trafficking in Iowa on Monday, April 15.

three survivors, Waterloo native Heather Rios, attended Monday’s event and participated in a post-film Q&A panel with McNeal and Karen Siler, a representative of local resource service Friends of the Family.

After a few brief introduc-

tory questions, the floor was opened for audience questions. When asked what college students can do to help, McNeal highlighted the need for awareness.

“I think the awareness piece is just the biggest thing that we can do. That sounds

really flimsy, and I wish that I had something more substantial, but I think that it’s so important that we just continue to talk about what it really is and just have those conversations,” she said.

See GRIDSHOCK, page 2

Walking out of the darkness for suicide prevention LEZIGA BARIKOR Staff Writer

This story contains content about suicide that some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.

“There’s a proverb that offers, tell me a fact and I will learn it. Tell me the truth and I shall believe it. But tell me a story, and it will live in my heart,” said Michael Zibilich, keynote speaker from Active Minds at the Out of Darkness Walk for Suicide Prevention.

“Today I hope to tell you a story that will touch your heart, your mind and your soul. A tragic and personal story. A story about suicide. A subject not easy to talk about, or frankly, to listen to.

“It is however, a necessary story. A story that has but one simple clear objective today.

To make you a first responder in your life and in those you know and love.”

This past Sunday, April 14, Cedar Falls community members gathered for the Out of the Darkness Walk for Suicide Prevention. The event offered

SOFIA LEGASPI/Northern Iowan

professional resources for those struggling or wanting to help support those struggling with mental health issues, as well as raise money for mental health services.

This year, the organizers set the goal of raising $25,000.

That goal was reached by Sunday before the walk even

started, according to Steven Dreesman, graduate student and event organizer. Overall, the event surpassed their goal and raised $26,170, which will be divided into funding mental health research, programs and advocacy on the federal and state levels through the American Foundation for

Suicide Prevention.

Many of those coordinating and volunteering at the event were UNI students in graduate school for clinical psychology and members of the Upsilon Nu Iota chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, an international honor society for professional counselors. Committee mem-

bers included Sam Galema, Jamie Dhabalt, Hailie Carlson, Porsha Ishbell and Chelsea Siefken.

This year’s event featured more interactive resources for people to become more educated on mental health. One activity was a tent filled with different colored walls to show attendees the scientific side of mental health issues. There were also massages, crafting stations and games for all ages.

Another key goal of the event was to de-stigmatize mental health issues. One way that attendees were encouraged to do so was by choosing colored beaded necklaces to wear. Each color represented a story: White for the loss of a child, purple for the loss of a relative or friend, green for a personal struggle and many more colors which are described on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website’s for the event.

The keynote speaker wore white beads to represent his story.

See DARKNESS, page 4

PAGE 2

APRIL 18, 2019 |

MICHAEL OASHEIM

NEWS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

News Editor

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

New NISG Upper Cabinet commences After the NISG election, the newly-elected president and vice president decide when to open up applications for Upper Cabinet positions. This year, Levang and Stites chose to open them the Monday after the election.

Although applications are open to the entire student body, each Upper Cabinet member for the 2019-2020 school year has been involved with NISG in the past. Once the applications closed, each applicant was interviewed. Levang and Stites deliberated about the best candidates for the individual positions before making their picks. On the Wednesday that followed, the selected applicants gave their confirmation speeches to NISG. “[NISG members] can ask whatever questions that they would like to, any concerns, stuff like that,” Konfrst explained. “From there, if the Senate feels like they are a great pick, they will confirm them in, and, as of last Wednesday, they all got confirmed.

According to Konfrst, Levang and Stites selected these individuals based not only on their individual qualifications, but also on their ability to work as a team.

“[The Upper Cabinet is] going to work a lot with the Title IX office,” Konfrst said.

“They’re going to work a lot with sexual assault and making sure that they can help advocate for survivors of sexual assault.

They’re going to work a lot as an Upper Cabinet on preparing for the 2020 elections.”

According to Konfrst, the new Upper Cabinet members will each have their own individual initiatives to focus on, similar to this past years’ Panthers Vote Initiative, which encouraged UNI students to get out and vote.

The Chief of Staff and Director of Diversity are fairly new roles. This will be the third consecutive years that each role has been held. Konfrst said these positions are still being defined by the people who hold them each year.

The Director of Diversity Mahlia Brown is responsible for spearheading diversity inclusion efforts and advocating for social justice. Brown is a junior psychology major.

“Mahlia has been a rock star as a senator,” Konfrst said. “She’s done a lot of great work with advocating for social justice and for including multicultural stu-

dents.”

The Chief of Staff Chad Schafer works with NISG’s Board of Directors to help them with their individual initiatives.

Schafer is a junior social science teaching major.

“With Chad, he brings the support system,” Konfrst said.

“He’s one that will always break down a wall if it’s right in front of him. He’s one that’s going to support any initiative and always help them. He’ll never do it for them but he’ll always make sure

they have all the resources they need.”

The Director of Public Relations Sara Goodman is responsible for NISG’s messaging and managing a marketing calendar to effectively get information out to students.

According to Konfrst, Goodman was qualified for this role due to her background and experience with communications. Goodman is a junior marketing major.

What sex trafficking “really is” is hard to pin down, as the film and panelists emphasized.

“If I gave you 25 bullet points, you might only check off two, and you might not think it’s trafficking,” said McNeal, stating that no two cases are ever the same.

She said citizens should look for “the absence of normal” and “be open to all possibilities” regarding sex trafficking in the store, at the airport and in their personal networks.

“We’re 1-2 steps away from knowing someone in a personal network who is affected by this,” she said.

The film also emphasized that a trafficker can be any-

one of any gender, age or socioeconomic status. Buyers, in contrast, are predominantly men, many of whom are middle-class, married fathers with college degrees. It is important to note that most buyers lack a prior criminal record, making it difficult for law enforcement to develop a typical profile.

The many faces of sex traffickers mean that one of the most important things citizens can do is believe survivors, regardless of whether their story matches the “typical” idea of a victim.

“Traffickers and buyers rely on us not to want to believe it,” said Shiler.

Regan Rowenhurst, a sophomore religion and history major who attended the event, said that the lack of awareness and ignorance really hit home for her.

“I think that’s the part that

shocked me most, about how people would question a survivor,” Rowenhorst said. “I couldn’t believe that.”

The cultural tendency not to believe survivors, according to the panelists, has led to a lack of consequences for the real criminals in the sex trafficking industry. Victims will frequently be arrested for prostitution, while buyers and traffickers escape free of charge. The few buyers who are caught in the act, said McNeal, face insufficient punishment. For victims under age 18, the punishment is a Class D felony and up to five years in prison. However, for victims over 18, the buyer receives only an “aggravated misdemeanor” and the potential for two years in prison— a “joke,” according to McNeal.

“No one ever serves prison time; a lot of them don’t serve

jail time,” she said. “They’re issued a citation or a fine.”

The next steps for “Gridshock” include an Iowa tour, with upcoming stops in Davenport, Sioux Center, Iowa City and Pella. From April 25-27, the documentary will also be screened at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival in Dubuque, Iowa.

The festival, in its seventh year, is one of the top reviewed film festivals worldwide and supports emerging filmmakers and diverse, cause-related films, according to the festival website.

McNeal is hopeful that the tour will lead to “Gridshock” being picked up by a major network to bring the issue to light nationwide.

“The story’s about Iowa, but it has a common theme, and a message that will go throughout the country,” she

said.

McNeal is also planning her next project—a documentary on child pornography— and hopes to launch a new crowdfunding campaign in November to raise money for that production.

For now, though, she’s using her film to raise awareness. Both she and Rios said that, though “Gridshock” isn’t an easy film to watch, it’s an important one.

“You have to be open to hear the ugly,” Rios said, describing how sharing her story is important for her own healing as well as the awareness of others. “I feel like I need to turn the lights on and get those roaches out.”

“We need to be mad,” McNeal agreed, concluding the evening’s panel. “We need to fuel this fire and do something about it.”

NORTHERN IOWAN

EDITORIAL STAFF

CIRCULATION

GABRIELLE LEITNER Art Director leitnerg@uni.edu

RILEY SCHULTEJANS

SOFIA LEGASPI Campus Life Editor slegaspi@uni.edu

PRODUCTION STAFF

The Northern Iowan is published semi-weekly on Monday and Thursday during the academic year, except for holidays and examination periods, by the University of Northern Iowa, L011 Maucker Union, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0166 under the auspices of the Board of Student Publications.

Advertising errors that are the fault of the Northern Iowan will be corrected at no cost to the advertiser only if the Northern Iowan office is notified within seven days of the original publication. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertisement at any time.

The Northern Iowan is funded in part with student activity fees.

A copy of the Northern Iowan grievance procedure is available at the Northern Iowan office, located at L011 Maucker Union.

All material is © 2019 by the Northern Iowan and may not be used without permission.

ANNA FLANDERS Staff Writer

On Wednesday, April 10, the new Upper Cabinet members of Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) were officially sworn into their positions.

Each person started work in their individual roles on Monday, April 15. NISG President Jacob Levang and Vice President Jacob Stites selected the Upper Cabinet Members based on applications from the student body.

The new Upper Cabinet consists of the following members: Chief of Staff Chad Schafer, Director of Finance Amela Music, Director of Government Relations Isaak Esperson, Director of Public Relations Sara Goodman and Director of Diversity Mahlia Brown.

“I’m very confident with all of the picks that Levang and Stites have decided to choose for each of them,” said outgoing Director of Public Relations David Konfrst. “I think that they all bring a unique aspect to the table. I think overall with all these positions, I don’t know if there could have actually been better picks for these.”

GRIDSHOCK

continued from page 1

L011 Maucker Union Cedar Falls, IA 50614 www.northerniowan.com northern-iowan@uni.edu 319.273.2157

SYDNEY HAUER Executive Editor hauers@uni.edu 319.325.0483

SIERRA STEEN Managing Editor steens@uni.edu 319.939.8190

ELIOT CLOUGH Sports Editor clougeaa@uni.edu

MICHELE SMITH

BRODY HALL Copy Editor brodyh@uni.edu

LAURA SMITH

MICHAEL OASHEIM News Editor oasheimm@uni.edu

Northern Iowan Manager michele.smith@uni.edu Adviser laura.smith@uni.edu

Circulation

SIERRA STEEN Webmaster Graphic Artist

GABRIELLE LEITNER Production Graphics

KARINA VALDIVIA Business Assistant

DANYEL GRIFFITH Office Assistant

SARAH RITONDALE Office Assistant

Northern Iowa Student Governemnt/Courtesy Photo

The new Upper Cabinet members of Northern Iowa Student Government were officially sworn into their positions on Wednesday, April 10. The new members began work in their individual roles on Monday, April 15.

See NISG UPPER CABINET, page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters must be less than 300 words in length and are subject to editing. Not all submissions will be printed. Send submissions to hauers@uni.edu.

SEND US STORY IDEAS

Tell us what’s happening on campus. Email submissions to northern-iowan@uni.edu.

Do you want to have an event listed here? Email us at northern-iowan@uni.edu with information about the event to have it featured.

PAGE 3

SYDNEY HAUER

OPINION

Executive Editor

APRIL 18, 2019 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

Politics aren’t black & white viduals, the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Opinion Columnist Kavanaugh and the presiLiving in a world where dential election of Donald political activism has been Trump to name a few. Those at its peak has caused a lot are some pretty big issues of young minds to start that can impact somebody’s thinking about what politi- decision to either lean cal party they may identify towards the left or right in with and vote for when they our binary political system. are of age.

Now, before I continue, I A lot of controversial want to clarify a couple of political topics have sur- things. I firmly believe havfaced over the past couple ing more politically educatof years, such as gun con- ed people can only be bentrol, the debate between eficial to society. Not just pro-life or pro-choice indi- being educated, but feeling ABIGAIL BENNETHUM

PEXELS

Opinion Columnist Abigail Bennethum draws attention to the idea that politics are not always black and white, and encourages people to be more accepting of other’s views.

so strong in your values that you stand up and make your voice heard. Voting and being an active citizen in society is one of the most valuable things you can do as an American.

One of the typical miscon ceptions plenty of people don’t realize is that politics aren’t black and white. It is not just Democrat and Republican.

People find themselves so caught up in titles and what the other party is opposed to. It instantly turns into a battle of he said, she said and making big decisions off of someone’s demographic when it should be based on their merit and values. This is not only relevant during debates and other elections, but on social media as well.

People are harassing one another about what they believe in, and then getting angry about somebody doing the same to them.

This existing divide between people is breaking not only our community down, but people as a whole.

Being politically active in

this day and age has changed greatly from when our parents and grandparents were our age. Not only in the way we get our message across, but the content in which we focus our messages. It has become a game of selective perception among not only our peers, but actual candidates that were running both in the past and present.

Personally, not knowing which party I identified with growing up has given me a perspective I don’t think many people have. College is where I decided I identified the most with rightwing ideology. I say most because there are things that myself and probably a lot of other students agree with that aren’t typically aligned with the basic values of whichever political party they stand with.

Growing up with various family members that held very influential political views from both sides has given me the chance to ponder both.

I concluded that no person is 100 percent con-

servative or liberal. In my opinion, I think that is our answer right there.

Not one person can solve all the problems of society from affiliating with just one political view. It takes a team effort and constantly going against each other won’t solve anything.

As I walk around campus and in the classroom, I recognize others distinctively try to dominate with their views over other persons.

So, I ask the question: Why do people think their political opinions are superior over another’s? At the end of the day, I think students and other growing minds forget that opinions are just opinions.

We all need to end the game of selective perception and focus on the content of the person, what they value, and how that can be beneficial to society as a whole. Looking beyond the immediate gratification of proving one person is right over another to come together and make the right decision for our country.

Engaging in open-minded political discussion How come talking about politics is so controversial?

The answer to this question is quite simple actually, because there are, of course, two sides to every story. But nowadays, it seems that we as a society tend to shy away from open political discussion and instead revert to either insulting each other or just avoiding talking about important issues altogether. Keep in mind, both sides of the aisle are guilty of this practice. No matter if you’re Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or Socialist, we all have had times in which we’ve just avoided talking about a relevant issue because we feared offending the other side or didn’t want to become too controversial.

This is a big problem in America today. Open political discussion can be one of the most productive and beneficial actions that we take amongst ourselves as a society, because only then can we be truly tolerant and accepting of people whom we disagree with. This helps

us understand all sides of the issue, rather than letting our confirmation biases shine through while ignoring other relevant information to the issue. A lot of this has roots in the rise of the Internet and the ability to live inside information bubbles. The Internet allows us to seal off information contradictory to our beliefs and values while at the same time feeding us the information we want to see. When this happens, we lose the ability to see the perspectives of all sides of the issue, which then leads over into real-life discussion. The general lack of exposure to ideas across the political spectrum lead us to be unindulgent to someone who has different political beliefs. By this point, we’ve probably lost hope of an open discussion.

Now, I know it’s completely unrealistic to expect to change someone’s mind just by talking with them about current events (or anything for that matter), but that isn’t the point.

Instead of trying to persuade someone to come over to your side, the main objective should be to express one’s ideals in a way in which someone who disagrees with you can completely understand. It

too upset.

I’m not saying that we need to force the discussion of certain issues if they will make someone upset or uncomfortable. It’s completely understandable if a controversial issue would make somePEXELS one uneasy Opinion Columnist Colin Horning discusses the current political climate, and how many U.S. to talk about; citizens are less wiling to talk about politics because they’re worried about offending the other that’s what side. Horning argues that open-minded political discussion is some of the most important makes it conconversations Americans can be having. t r o v e r s ial. should have the intent of why we tend to shy away But since these topics have making it clear-cut what you from political discussions is believe without throwing an the simple fact that many so much emotion attached insult at the person, because of us have become too wor- to them, most of us try to no one has ever been per- ried about offending the avert the dialogue altogethsuaded after being taunt- other side. Most of this will er.

The best way to hold ed. If people on both sides trace back to modern-day a political discussion is to successfully and openly political correctness culbe as open-minded and tolexchange these ideas while ture that has been growing erant as possible, while at being approachable in the for quite some time. Rather the same time being firm process, it can only benefit than freely having converthose involved. Both sides sations about controversial on your opinion to make can come away with a bet- topics such as abortion or sure the other side knows ter understanding of why transgender bathrooms, our your beliefs. To truly those they disagree with society tends to avoid dis- become a free-thinking and hold those views, and will cussion with the other side broad-minded society, we have a greater knowledge altogether. It stems from need to not be afraid to disof contemporary political the emotion attached to cuss contentious topics and issues. these topics and the worry do our best to understand However, another reason that someone might become all ideas.

PAGE 4

APRIL 20, 2019 |

CAMPUS LIFE NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

SOFIA LEGASPI

Campus Life Editor

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

Play created for kids on autism spectrum COLBY WEBER

Those who walk into the doors of the theater will be taken on an “expedition” of sorts, in which they pair up with a partner and explore things. The kids within the production will receive a backpack with tools, such as a magnifying glass. From there, participants will get to practice scooping rocks, measuring them and putting them into vials.

Once this is done, audience members will get to explore trees, water and more. They will then be led into a campsite-like space in which people will share stories about the moon. The exact content of each event will depend on the participants’ questions and curiosity.

Producing an experience with several sets and components presented some challenges.

“You have three different locations that have to be designed, and then you have to figure out how to transition to each environment,” Berghammer said. “Episode One involves exploration of a brand-new rock formation in Iowa during the present day.

Episode Three is the moon.

Are there elements from Episode One that we can reuse in Episode Three by changing things slightly to create the moon?”

In order to create an immersive space experience, they also had to build things such as a lunar excursion

module and a recreation of NASA’s Building Nine. To assist with building these technical components, they received donations from places such as the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. As part of her preparation for the play, Berghammer also visited a space camp and talked to astronauts and NASA historians.

“To Touch the Moon” is an immersive theatre experience meant to stimulate a sense of exploration and discovery in its young audience members.

“This is an immersion theater piece,” said Gretta Berghammer, professor of drama and theater for youth.

“There’s a story spine, but the 15 participants add to the story through choices, decisions and engagement.

Rather than having one plot, Berghammer said that the play is tied together by overall themes.

“The overall theme to all of ‘To Touch the Moon’ is discovery and exploration,” she said. “What we’re trying to do here with this piece is to help young people feel what it’s like to discover something for the first time.”

“To Touch the Moon” was inspired the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing this year. Berghammer was 13 years old when it happened, and she said she found it to be astonishing. This play production is meant to recreate that sense of wonder.

The sold-out show will present a total of six performances that will be held from April 19 to 20 and April 26 to 28. It will be performed in Bertha Martin Theatre.

Berghammer believes that her immersive theater experience is similar to a museum.

“Imagine that there’s this amazing science museum,” she said. “It’s got all kinds of really cool things and a really cool environment with the moon and NASA. Then you bring in 15 of your favorite actors and do something in that space.”

ily, it is fairly common for people to not discuss mental health crises with their family. Although Zibilich’s son did not leave a note, he said suicidal thoughts can be triggered by an acute mix of anxiety and depression.

According to Zibilich, people who commit suicide are not selfish or weak, but feel burdened. They are not seeking to die, but to find a solution to their suffering.

Suicide is then a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and Zibilich emphasized that most people struggling have a treatable mental health disorder.

“Mental health, just like physical health, is for everyone,” Zibilich said.

While talking about his son, Zibilich described two missed opportunities to save his life. One was when he had an anxiety attack while with friends the night prior to his attempt. His friends at the time were highly concerned by his behavior and some wanted to call for assistance, but others saw it as an anomaly, not likely to repeat. Zibilich said knowing the signs of a mental health crisis and taking the proper

action and resources to direct people to is crucial.

The second missed opportunity to save Zibilich’s son’s life was in the short hours before his attempt. His son made calls to five hospitals in the area seeking assistance, but did not know the number of the local crisis center.

Zibilich encouraged everyone to save the numbers of the local crisis center and national suicide hotline to their phones for themselves and those they love.

The statewide number is 1-800-332-4224 and the nationwide number is 1-800784-2433.

“This is a call for life. A call to life for awareness, but most importantly through action,” Zibilich said.

Zibilich ended his keynote address by reminding people that this is their one and only life, encouraging them to know the warning signs and respond accordingly.

For special education graduate student, Alesha Rettenmeier, the keynote speech affected her deeply.

“I haven’t lost a child, but I have lost a friend,” she said.

“And the whole time I was thinking about his mom who

was sitting with me, who’s just lost her son. So, it very much hit home, and I think it was a good message overall.”

Rettenmeier was wearing a T-shirt with the image of her friend Zachary “Zach” Rahnavardi and said that she, along with a group of others, were walking in memory of him. Rahnavardi and Rettenmeier grew up together and were both Cedar Falls community members.

“Now there’s actually a scholarship at Cedar Falls High School and other high schools in his name which is really awesome, the B-Average,” Rettenmeier said.

The B-Average Scholarship,

Rettenmeier said, is for students who didn’t always get straight A’s in school.

First year clinical psychology graduate student, Jordan Newburg, said she appreciated that the keynote speaker was not a professional in the field.

“Sometimes I think people just want to hear that personal story and they don’t want it to come from a professional that might be intimidating,” Newburg said.

Students seeking help can visit the UNI counseling center, call 319-27-2676 and press 2 for crisis counseling or text HELLO to the crisis number 741741 at any time at any time.

Staff Writer

An original play tailored to young individuals with developmental disorders or autism is the culmination of 18 months of collaboration between over 20 UNI students and faculty members.

In many theater produc-

tions, a narrative arch will be followed from the beginning, middle and end. The audience watches the actors perform their memorized lines, and after it’s done, they give a round of applause. However, the production of “To Touch the Moon” will feature elements and concepts which aren’t typically seen in a play.

Courtesy Photo

DARKNESS

continued from page 1

Zibilich’s son, Michael “Kellar” Zibilich, committed suicide April 21, 2012 in his second semester at Louisiana State University.

The elder Zibilich is a commercial real estate executive who lives with his wife, Gayle, in Atlanta, Ga. Since the death of his son, Zibilich has become a strong advocate for mental health and has worked with Active Minds for the past four years as a professional speaker.

“I’m here this afternoon not as a psychologist, psychiatrist or philosopher. Not as a priest, decon or rabbi. But as a father who lives every hour of the day with the tragic consequences of a wonderful life taken as quickly and as suddenly as a lightning strike,” Zibilich said.

Zibilich described his son as a happy person engaged in his community. He was a leader in his fraternity Sigma Chi and enjoyed white-water sports. He was also very close to his parents.

Zibilich explained that despite having close relationships with friends and fam-

SOFIA LEGASPI/Northern Iowan

Everything I do is for the kids. My favorite part is watching young people engage in theater, becuase that’s what I’m curious about.

Gretta Berghammer

Professor of drama and theatre for youth

While Berghammer put in time and training to create this production, she wanted to let the students know that she was proud of the work they had done. She is also grateful towards her colleagues for supporting the unique nature of her project.

When the play begins on April 19, she hopes that the kids will be able to enjoy it.

“Everything I do is for the kids,” said Berghammer.

“My favorite part is watching young people engage in theater, because that’s what I’m curious about.”

CAMPUS LIFE

SOFIA LEGASPI

Campus Life Editor

THEATRE REVIEW

APRIL 20, 2019 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

PAGE 5

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

‘Serse’ hits an operatic high note CECILIA MITCHELL Event Critic

G.F. Handel’s “Serse” is a three-act Baroque opera, first performed in 1738. On Saturday, April 13, I had the pleasure of viewing UNI Opera’s second, and final, performance of “Serse” in Bengtson Auditorium and was thoroughly impressed by the talent and dedication put into this well-executed show.

The evening began at 7:30 with remarks from UNI Opera’s director, Mitra Sadeghpour.

Sadeghpour spoke about the attention to detail put into the production, from the historical influences reflected in the costume and set design, to the plot guides and charts included in the opera’s program. She even told of her personal connection to the play, describing a noisy watermelon-seller she

encountered during her childhood in Persia (modern-day Iran). Sadeghpour explained that the only Farsi word in the performance was the word for “watermelon,” said in a market scene during the second act. Her words showed how well-researched the production was, which was exemplified in the performance that followed.

APRIL RENT SPECIAL!

View All Available Properties at RentCedarValley.com!

“Serse,” which tells a tale loosely based on the life of Xerxes I of Persia, features a complicated romance plot, difficult Baroque-style music and an entirely Italian libretto.

The cast and crew, ranging from undergraduate freshmen to second-year graduate students, demonstrated great understanding of the music and comprehension of the text.

Although it was supplemented by summary in the program and English supertitles, the story was truly told through the actors’ expressions and actions as their voices glided through intense, lengthy vocal runs.

The opening aria, sung by junior Hannah Miedema as King Serse, is set to one of Handel’s most famous melodies and brought literal tears to my eyes. The casting for this opera was very unique. There are a number of “pants roles” in this show, meaning that an actor with a soprano, mezzo-soprano or otherwise high vocal range, sings for a male character or a female character disguised in men’s clothing. Miedema — as well as Athena-Sade Whiteside as Arsamene and Madeline Langlitz as Amastre — gave believable, dedicated performances in these pants roles.

I was especially impressed

by Whiteside’s performance; whose dynamic facial expressions really stole the show for me.

The technical components of the show were stunning.

“Serse” takes place in the

NISG CABINET

continued from page 2

319.768.7150 info@rentcedarvalley.com *ONLY ON NEW 12-MONTH LEASES SIGNED IN APRIL 2019

Director of Finance Amela Music is responsible for handling money for the organization as well as helping student organizations fill out applications for NISG funding. Music is a junior economics and philosophy major.

According to Konfrst, she was qualified for this role based on her internship experience as well as her experience within NISG. Director of Government Relations Isaak Esperson is responsible for organizing student days at the capital and

TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan

Theatre critic Cecilia Mitchell reviews UNI Opera’s production of “Serse,” directed by Mitra Sadeghpour.

Persian Empire during 550 B.C. The set, designed by Ron Koinzan, featured a false proscenium that framed the stage with replicas of carvings from Xerxes I’s tomb. The costumes, designed by Danielle Mason, were gorgeous. I especially enjoyed how the young page, played by Ian Jenkins, wore an adorable miniature version of King Serse’s coat.

The talented singers and musicians, under the direction of Rebecca Burkhardt, performed all three acts of complex music with masterful skill and little error. The orchestra sounded beautiful, and I was impressed by the actors’ ability to remain in character while remembering their long-winded lines of music. Baritone Adrian Horras as the servant Elviro and bass Cole Flack as Ariodate provided wonderful contrast in tone, as well as wonderful comedic relief in

their acting.

I have the predisposition of being familiar with and loving the operatic genre both dramatically and musically, which puts me at a bit of an advantage for comprehending and appreciating a complicated Baroque opera. However, I went with a friend who had never seen or even considered going to an opera before, and they loved it. We spent the entire intermission chatting about what was going on in the production and how impressed we both were with the production quality. The cast and crew of “Serse” did a wonderful job with the difficult task of not only staging and performing this show, but also making it enjoyable and interesting for their audience.

Bravo, not only to the second night’s cast, but both casts and the crew of “Serse” on a job well done.

advocating for student issues such as lowering tuition.

Esperson is a junior political science and history major.

Konfrst said that Esperson emphasized his experience with UNI Day at the Capital in his confirmation speech.

Esperson is the only member of the Executive Branch, aside from President Levang, who is involved with the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. In the past, many NISG positions were held by Sigma Phi Epsilon members, but this year there are no senators who belong to the fraternity, according to Konfrst.

“With [the Director of]

Government Relations, there were only a couple of applications with that. Isaak was the most qualified,” Konfrst said.

“So with him, I think that was a great pick as well. I think overall, yes, in years past there has been a lot of I guess you could say controversy, with SigEp being involved in student government. But that also shows that there is an initiative as well with wanting to put members within the organization to make sure that not only things run smoothly but just a way for students in general to become leaders and NISG is a great organization to do that.”

PAGE 6

APRIL 18, 2019 |

SPORTS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

ELIOT CLOUGH Sports Editor

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

Women’s golf places 2nd in MVC GOLF

COLIN HORNING

Sports Writer

After completing a competitive regular season, the UNI women’s golf team hit the road to travel to Chesterton, Ind., for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

A strong showing by a string of Panther sophomores led Northern Iowa to tie their best ever finish at the MVC Championships, finishing in second place behind Southern Illinois.

Sophomore Sydney Eaton finished second overall individually after a sudden death round against Missouri State’s Abby Cavaiani, which

propelled the purple and gold to a second-place finish.

Going into Tuesday, the Panther women were sitting at seventh place after the first two days of the tournament.

However, all five golfers had strong overall showings to push the team up the standings into the tournament’s runner-up.

Sophomores Anne Gradoville, Hannah Bermel and Emily Snelling all shot their best rounds of the championships. Bermel jumped 20 spots on the leaderboard and finished with being tied for fifth place overall. She was also awarded the MVC’s Elite 17 Award, which is given to the athlete participating in the

tournament with the highest grade-point-average.

On April 16, the UNI men’s golf team was in Macomb, Ill., for the Beu Mussatto Invitational. Because the first day of the tournament was canceled because of weather, the Panthers had to play all 36 holes in the only other day of the tournament.

Northern Iowa finished in fifth place overall, with freshman Tommy Doyle leading the team by shooting 79, good enough for 17th overall.

The Panther men will next hit the links on Monday and Tuesday, April 22 and 23, for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships to round out their season.

ed, by no surprise, to senior wrestler Drew Foster following his national championship in the 184-pound weight class.

Foster’s championship broke a near 20-year drought for the purple and gold.

This award was one of three for the national champion as he also took home the Male Athlete of the Year and the Big Cat of the Year, which is awarded to the senior athlete who best exemplifies what it means to be a Panther.

Following Foster was the Female Athlete of the Year, which was awarded to Piper Thomas. Thomas was named the player of the week twice, first team all-conference, conference all-tournament team, conference player of the year and conference tournament MVP in

the 2018 season.

The next two awards went to the male and female newcomers of the year. The awards went to freshmen AJ Green, point guard for the men’s basketball team, and Patrice Watson, hurdler for women’s track and field.

Green became the all-time leading scorer as a freshman with 509 points, earned MVC freshman of the year and the all-conference tournament team.

Watson received all-conference honors in the 60-meter hurdles at the conference indoor championships and recorded the third fastest time in UNI history.

Next up was the Male and Female Scholar of the Year which was awarded to Marcus Weymiller and Hannah McDevitt.

Weymiller balanced football along with a public administration major, with an emphasis on human resources and a double minor in political science and politics and law.

McDevitt balanced soccer while double majoring in business economics and Spanish.

The UNI Spirit Award was awarded to softball pitcher Jaclyn Spencer. The award is given to the athlete who attends the most events outside of their respective sport to support her fellow student-athletes.

The Unsung Hero Award also went to softball’s outfielder/first baseman, Abby Downs, voted by her teammates as the one who has an unbelievable work ethic and passion for their sport and takes their team the extra mile.

Carter Isley, the sophomore wrestler, was awarded the Best Comeback of the Year Award.

After missing much of the season due to injury, Carter was able to take down an in-state rival wrestler from ISU in overtime. The coaching staff of the year and team of the year both were awarded to the wrestling team as they placed third in the Big 12 Championships, qualifying six men for nationals and placing 13th at the national tournament as a team.

The final award from the 2019 PESPY’s was the Community Service Award, which is awarded to the athletic team with the most community service hours logged. The Panther’s women’s swimming and diving team were given the award.

for the Panthers. After three innings, Spencer struck out two batters while only allowing one base hit and no walks.

Emma Olejniczak then came in to relieve Spencer of her duties.

Olejniczak allowed three hits, one earned run and ultimately took the loss, having her season

record fall to 6-8.

After two innings pitched

by Olejniczak, freshman Erica Oler would come into close.

After one and a third inning, Oler allowed a hit, walk and let one run. The Cyclones would walk away with the win.

Iowa State freshman pitch-

er, Shannon Mortimer allowed only two singles for Cyclones.

Mortimer did not give up a single walk and improved her record to 6-4.

The only two batters to get on base for UNI were catcher Ashley Chesser and third baseman Adara Opiola, who both

singled in the top of the second inning. This was the third time this season that the Panthers have been held scoreless.

The Panthers will be back in action Friday, April 19, in Cedar Falls. Bradley will make the trip for a three-game series Friday and Saturday.

Courtesy Photo/Missouri Valley Conference

Panther ESPYs hosted in the McLeod Center PATRICK HANSEN

Sports Writer

On Sunday, April 14, the UNI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the second annual 2019 Panther ESPY’s, the awards show recognizing standout Panther athletes from the 2018-2019 year.

Winning a PESPY award is more than just recognition it is an award for the best of the best at UNI, as all winners were voted on by fellow their student-athletes. The SAAC was grateful to the technology department as they put in many hours making the awards for the ceremony.

The awards show started out with the Moment of the Year Award, which was award-

In-state rival Cyclones defend home turf vs UNI SOFTBALL

JERRIUS CAMPBELL Sports Writer

The Panthers were shut-out 2-0 over the course of seven innings on the road in Ames on Tuesday, April 16.

Jaclyn Spencer took the mound to start the contest

Panther tennis tops conference foe Valparaiso TENNIS

FRANK WALSH

Sports Writer

The Missouri Valley Conference is filled with fierce competitors when it comes to the game of tennis, having two teams in Illinois State and Missouri State that remain undefeated in conference play.

The University of Northern Iowa women’s tennis team was able to pounce on the opportunity to compete against a fellow MVC foe, the Valparaiso University Crusaders. The game took place in the home courts of Waterloo, Iowa.

The Panthers were led

by Daisy Phillips and Olivia

Fain during doubles competition, grabbing a 6-1 victory. Valentina Caro and Harri Proudfoot also posted a 6-1 victory to earn the doubles point for UNI. Phillips also posted an impressive 6-2 victory in the first set of her singles match, ultimately taking the match

with a win in the third set with a score of 6-4.

Reghan Lynch also did well in the singles competition, posting a win in two sets, each finishing 7-5.

This past weekend, the Panthers gained their very first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season.

With the regular season closing soon, the Panthers have a few more competitions looking forward. UNI Tennis will be facing the University of Illinois, Illinois State and the Bradley University Braves, having both competitions away from home on Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21.

PAGE 7 SIERRA STEEN Managing Editor

APRIL 18, 2019 |

FOR RENT 4 BR, 2 BA house. 718 E. Seerley Blvd., CF. Avail.

June 1. $1300 per/mo. 3 living areas, laundry, central air. No pets, smoking, or Sec. 8.

Phone: 319-277-2564

FUN & GAMES

Across 1 “The Big Bang Theory” network 4 Uncertain 8 Peek at someone else’s test answers, say 13 River to the Caspian 15 Where to find a hero 16 Rental document 17 Opera songs for one 18 Part of

SUMMER JOB! WORK IN RESIDENCE FACILITIES

$9.50/hr

Monday-Friday 6:00am to 2:30pm May through mid-August Custodial: May 11 Painter: May 13 Maintenance: May 13

NEW!

 Custodial Assistant  Maintenance Assistant  Painter Assistant ELIGIBILITY: Must have been enrolled for a minimum of 1 credit hour in the spring. Must be enrolled for a minimum of 1 credit hour in the fall. Flexible scheduling around summer classes.

Live-in Facilities Assistant

Live on-campus in the residence halls (housing provided) while performing the daily assistant duties above, plus make nightly building rounds and respond to off-hours requests as needed.

Limited positions available - will fill fast!

Visit dor.uni.edu/jobs and click on custodial to apply

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

19 Ready for action 20 Farewell performance 22 Award-winning sci-fi author __ Ellison 23 Chess match finale 24 Summer camp craft 25 Neuter 26 Squinter’s wrinkles 30 Done with employment: Abbr.

32 Cathedral recess 33 Go off course 34 Lively Irish dances 37 “Steppenwolf” writer Hermann 39 Lyre-playing emperor 40 “Much __ About Nothing” 41 Broadway partner of Rodgers 42 Reuben bread 44 Hidden danger 47 Honey-colored 51 Big rigs 52 Track’s inside track 54 Songs of praise 56 Easy-peasy task 57 Sports stadium 58 Jellystone Park bear 59 Actor Miller of “Justice League” 60 Watchful period 61 Keen 62 Sets eyes on 63 Lawn-trimming targets 64 Ballpoints 65 Banned insecticide Down 1 Used “colorful” language 2 “Doctor My Eyes” singer Jackson __ 3 Light lunches 4 Strong suit or weak sauce 5 African desert fox 6 Criticize harshly 7 Yang complement 8 Purify 9 Find out about 10 Keen-sighted sort 11 Between ports 12 Seagull kin 14 Won’t go away, as an odor 21 __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy 22 Mooring rope 24 Foes of robbers 27 Many a reggae artist

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

28 Corn serving 29 Romantic dinner complement 31 “To clarify ... “ 34 Quick punch 35 Swearing-in words 36 Big fat zero 38 Drops the ball 39 Formidable opponents 41 Church books with many notes 43 Sudden pull

45 Small skullcap 46 Connect to an outlet 48 Drank to excess 49 Hardened (to) 50 Dinner, say 53 Corrosive compounds 54 Cover with asphalt 55 Like the Mojave 56 Jackknifed into the pool, say 58 Chatter

Do You Know?

UNDETECTABLE MEANS UNTRANSMITTABLE

TALK TO YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ABOUT U=U.

People living with HIV who take their medications as prescribed and have a low amount of virus in their blood are considered undetectable and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/art/index.html

#UequalsU

PAGE 8

GreenhouseAd.pdf

1

4/23/18

10:35 AM

APRIL 18, 2019 |

CLASSIFIEDS NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

|

SIERRA STEEN Managing Editor

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50

NEWEST RESTAURANT

ON COLLEGE HILL

C

M

Y

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

@GREENHOUSEKITCHENCF @EATGREENHOUSE GREENHOUSEKITCHEN.COM

91 7 WES T 23RD STREET | CEDAR FA L L S, I O WA