FACEBOOK.COM/NORTHERNIOWAN
WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
CEDAR FALLS, IA
TWITTER & INSTAGRAM: @NORTHERNIOWAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
MONDAY, APRIL 29 CEDAR FALLS, IA Trump and Bolsonaro 3 News editor bids farewell 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 115, ISSUE 53 ‘VertigoMini’ review 4 MVC Tennis 6
SFC votes to defund Panther Shuttle NICOLE BAXTER Staff Writer
The Student Fee Committee (SFC) voted on Wednesday, April 10, to defund the Panther Shuttle and Weekend SafeRide bus, effective in the fall semester of 2019. According to the SFC, the decision was made in order to abide by President Nook’s request to hold tuition and student fees “flat.” Committee members Kristen Ahart, former Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) Vice President, and Vice President of Student Affairs Paula Knudson were present at the weekly NISG Senate meeting on Wednesday, April 24 to explain the decision. Their presentation was featured at the meeting in response to growing student opposition that culminated in a 500+ signature petition. Beyond last week’s Senate meeting, no formal announcement has been made by the SFC to make these lost services known to the student
body. Roughly 10 students were present in the gallery on Wednesday evening, five of whom made public comments. “I love to see the engagement. They were respectful, they voiced different concerns, they spoke up and I am really proud of our students,” Knudson said following the Senate meeting. “These are hard decisions and you should be concerned because they affect your experience and it’s your money.” Full-time students are charged with mandatory fees in addition to the price of tuition. These charges are known as student fees. For the 201920 school year, each student is projected to pay $351 towards student fees, a number which has remained static from last year. According to Ahart and Knudson, that money is split up into two categories: A student activities fee and a student services fee. The student activities fee provides funding to orga-
SOURCE: Northern Iowa Student Government Website
nizations such as: NISG, music, theatre, the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (GBPAC), intercollegiate academics, the Northern Iowan, family weekend, the Campus Activities Board (CAB), Service and Leadership Council, the Office of Student Life, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, the Green Fund, Gender and Sexuality Services
and Military and Veteran Student Services. The student services fee currently provides funding to Intercollegiate Athletics, the Panther Shuttle and the Weekend SafeRide. The proposed cut to the bus services leaves Intercollegiate Athletics as the sole item in the student services fee. Based on projected enroll-
ment for the 2019-20 school year, it is estimated that each student will pay $229.50 towards the student services fee. Estimates place the total amount at $2,023,553, all of which would be given to the Intercollegiate Athletics, according to the Student Fee Committee. See STUDENT FEES, page 2
DOR explains 2019-20 dining changes ANNA FLANDERS Staff Writer
Rumors regarding changes to UNI dining services during the 2019-2020 school year are being laid to rest. Next year’s updates will include taking all late meals, such as late lunch and late dinner, away from Rialto. For Friday dinners and allday on Saturdays, only Rialto will be open and Piazza will be closed, while on Sundays, only Piazza will be open and Rialto will be closed. Students will also be allotted 16 to-go meals per semester. “It is hoped these changes will keep rates low so more students can afford to attend UNI and live on campus,” said Janet Despard, director of dining administration. “On average, students who live on-campus and dine communally the first two years are more connected to campus life, persist at higher rates, graduate faster (in four years) and have higher GPAs.” Despard noted that the number one factor prompting students to move off-campus is the cost. According to Despard,
GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan
The Department of Residence (DOR) has addressed rumors of changes coming to the dining centers’ schedules.
all budget decisions for the Department of Residence (DOR) are made collaboratively by the DOR. They also consider input from the Residence Hall Association and university leadership. Ultimately, budgets must be approved by the Board of Regents. Currently, the dining rates
for fiscal year 2020 have not been approved by the Board of Regents yet and, thus, they are not final. “I must emphasize this is not final, but the requested rate increase is lower than the expected increase in expenses,” Despard said. “Again, we are trying to keep the overall cost of attendance as flat
as possible.” If the Iowa Board of Regents approves the requested increase, Despard says the all-access plan will increase $53, which is 1.2 percent of the current cost. “These changes are planned because they support the university priority of keeping increases in the
overall cost of attendance (which includes housing and dining) as close to f lat as possible,” she said. “This proposal provides the cost savings needed for a balanced budget.” Dining services are funded by a combination of dining plans, retail sales and campus catering services, according to Despard. “DOR and Dining Services are owned and operated by UNI as a fully self-funded auxiliary,” Despard said. “They receive no financial support or subsidy from the state or the university. All revenue comes from residence hall and dining plan fees, as well as from catering and retail locations around campus, which are also owned and operated by DOR. DOR and Dining are required to have a balanced budget and meet certain financial ratios. Unlike dining operations managed by contract management companies, DOR and Dining do not generate profits and there are no shareholders or a board of directors governing the operation.” See DOR, page 5