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VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 53
COVID-19
FAREWELL
SOFTBALL
NEWS PAGE 2
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
UNI’s on-campus positivity rate drops; UNI plans to host more vaccine clinics.
The Panthers come out on top in two out of three games against the Braves.
Campus life editor Anthony Witherow says goodbye to the Northern Iowan.
Walk supports suicide prevention ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
On Saturday, April 24, UNI students and community members participated in an Out of the Darkness Walk supporting suicide awareness and mental health resources. The UNI event, which took place from 12-3:30 p.m., was one of many such walks held across the nation on Saturday in support of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). These annual events are a central part of AFSP’s mission to reduce the national suicide rate by 20% by 2025. The money raised goes to help the organization invest in research, create educational programs that advocate for public policy and support survivors of suicide loss, according to the organization’s website. Sabrina Menke, a second-year graduate student in UNI’s school counseling program, served as the coordi-
ELIZABETH KELSEY/Northern Iowan
A group of volunteers stand by a table of bead necklaces, each signifing a different way in which suicide has affected people’s lives.
nator of the UNI walk. She said the event was designed to start a conversation and showcase the resources available on the UNI campus and in the Cedar Valley. “It’s all about just kind of raising awareness about suicide and suicide prevention, especially on college campus-
es, because it is a very important topic, especially after this past year,” she said. Free will donations were collected from participants, with those who raised $100 earning a free T-shirt. The wind and cool temperatures meant that many of the volunteers wore hats
or light jackets, but the sun regularly emerged from behind the clouds to offer some warmth to the walkers as they traversed the approximately one-mile route around campus. The path led them past McCollum Science Hall, around Maucker Union and over to Schindler
the scene for this story. “I know him!” a kid excitedly announced to his mom while pointing to a picture of Daunte Wright at the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis.
“Say his name, baby, Daunte Wright,” the mother replied. The kid repeated after his mom as they moved onto the next picture. “I take him here to pay respects, but also to keep him informed,” the mother said. “These are his brothers and sisters, and it’s our job to not forget them.” Just a few days after the
Derek Chauvin trial concluded, the Minneapolis area now known as George Floyd Square is still lively as ever. “This is George Floyd Square, but this square memorializes everyone lost to police violence. There’s photos and memorials everywhere for everyone across the country failed by the blue here, not just George,” said one Minneapolis resident.
Education Center, concluding near Rod Library. Along the way, volunteers staffed tables where participants could learn about local mental health resources and share their stories or reasons for walking. At the table near McCollum, first-year graduate student in school counseling Laura Schmitt stood with three other volunteers behind a table full of colorful bead necklaces. Each color represented the different ways in which suicide might have affect the lives of walkers, such as white for the loss of a child, gold for the loss of a parent and green for a personal struggle or attempt. “Seeing the people pick out the different colors is really meaningful (because) you just kind of get an insight to their lives and what they’ve been through,” Schmitt said. “To see that connection is really important.”
See SUICIDE PREVENTION, page 5
Chauvin trial ends, but legacy lives on EMMA’LE MAAS
Executive Editor
Note: Our Executive Editor traveled to the Twin Cities for a class project and reported from
EMMA’LE MAAS/Northern Iowan
Protestors take part in the “Justice for All Families” protest outside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s mansion.
At a protest called “Justice for All Families,” protestors waited outside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s mansion in St. Paul. The event was organized by Natives Lives Matter, a Twin Cities organization which protests injustices from police brutality to missing indigenous people. Orga nizer Toshi ra Garraway said, “If they would have listened to our families, to our pain, there would not be a George Floyd, there would not be a Daunte Wright.” Kimberly Handy-Jones, the mother of Cordale Handy, who was killed by St. Paul police in 2017, spoke at the event to raise awareness. She brought up Chauvin’s past shootings, which the Minneapolis Police Department is now re-investigating, as well as the other two policemen at the scene.
See FLOYD LEGACY, page 4