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VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

HYGIENE PRODUCTS Opinion columnist Dani Goedken shares her stance on free menstruation products.

ALUMNI WEDDING Northern Iowan alumni Sofia Legaspi gets married.

OPINION Page 3

CAMPUS LIFE Page 4

FILM REVIEW Film critic Hunter Frisen reviews “Tenet”.

CAMPUS LIFE Page 5

Quarantine concerns prompt classroom shifts ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor

Just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, students in Kyle Tobiason’s Principles of Macroeconomics class began to arrive outside the Commons Ballroom. As each walked up, they stood, hesitatingly, then glanced at the class schedule posted outside the ballroom doors, before nodding and venturing in.

Their hesitancy might have seemed out of place for the third week of classes, but the students could be excused: their class was one of nearly 100 classes that has changed location in the last week.

According to Patrick Pease, associate provost for academic affairs, the shifting classes are not a response to a high rate of positive COVID-19 cases.

“To date, we see no evidence that transmission is happening in our classrooms,” he wrote in an email to the Northern Iowan.

“Furthermore, the number of people in our campus commu-

nity who have tested positive is very low compared to university campuses across the nation.”

Rather, the goal of relocating classrooms is to reduce the number of students sitting within six feet of each other in in-person classes, since students sitting within six feet of a classmate who test positive are required to quarantine, even if they themselves are healthy.

“The issue we are facing is that many healthy people are being asked to quarantine,” wrote Patrick Pease, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, in an email to the Northern Iowan. “Our concern is not with people getting sick, it is that too many healthy students are being asked to sit out of class. The additional changes we are making will greatly reduce the chances of our healthy students being asked to quarantine because they happened to be sitting next to someone who tests positive.”

As of Sunday, Aug.

Classes get moved to altenate locations to better follow CDC guidelines.

30, according to the UNI Forward Together COVID-19 dashboard, 83 students were quarantining in Department of Residence facilities. This number does not, however, include students quarantining off-campus.

According to Pease, 92 classes have already been relocated to larger rooms with

six feet of distance, but the administration anticipates that about 150-175 classes will move once the shifting is completed.

It’s a bit of a domino effect: once one class is moved to a larger location, its previous room is freed up to allow another class to spread out even more.

CATHERINE CROW/Northern Iowan

“Each class that is moved to a better room opens opportunities for other classes to be moved,” Pease wrote.

In addition, he anticipates that about 600-650 classes will see changes in the seating arrangement in their existing rooms.

See CLASSROOMS, page 2

The show must go on for Orchesis LAUREN MCGUILL Staff Writer

It seems nothing nowadays has been untouched

by COVID-19. From work, school, hobbies and extracurricular activities, everyone is living in a new normal. The Orchesis Dance Company is no exception. On Sunday, Aug. 30 at 2 p.m., Orchesis hosted its annual gala at Oster Regent Theater in Cedar Falls. While the event was sadly closed to the public due to COVID-19, the students performed as if the theater was packed to the brim.

Those who were given tickets to the show witnessed a beautiful show of 26 different dances, ranging from modern, tap, jazz, hip hop and improvisation. There were 22 student performers as well as a facility performer who partook in the Gala.

While the Gala’s original

performance date was set for April 3rd and 4th of this year, it had to change due to COVID-19. The organization did not let this down their spirits, as the dancers spent the rest of the spring and all of the summer training and honing their skills to perfec-

tion. While it wasn’t always easy practicing through video calls, the dancers pushed through and it was clearly shown in their performances.

President of the UNI Orchesis Dance Company, Melissa Lemke, who is a Graduate Student study-

ing Health Education with an emphasis on Health Promotion and Fitness Management as well as a certificate in global health and humanitarian studies, shared the difficulties she and her dancers had to go through See ORCHESIS, page 4

TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan

Orchesis Dance Company holds annual gala at Oster Regent Theatre

PAGE 2

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

CLASSROOMS

continued from page 1

“In the former pattern, there might have been 4-6 surrounding people within quarantining distance of any one person,” he wrote. “The new patterns will bring the number of people within that range to 2 or fewer.”

Freshman business administration major Mai Van, a student in the Principles of Macroeconomics class, said the course originally met in Curris Business Building. She hadn’t felt unsafe or too close to her peers in the old location, she said.

Her classmate and fellow freshman Sarena Gerber had a slightly different view.

“I didn’t necessarily feel unsafe, but it did feel like there was a lot of people in that room,” said Gerber, an accounting major.

After a peek into the Commons Ballroom, Gerber quickly confirmed that the new location was much more spread out than their old classroom had been.

However, she questioned why her class had been held in a room without six feet between each student in the

first place if there were more spacious rooms available.

“I was kind of wondering why we didn’t start out in the Ballroom,” she said. “It seems like the university is trying to recover.”

In addressing these concerns, Pease wrote that the university does not have sufficient space to ensure six feet of distancing between every student in traditional classroom settings. Thus, UNI employed a series of “stacked safety measures,” including physical distancing, masks, increased air circulation, enhanced cleaning, testing, contract tracing and — most relevant to this conversation — moving classes into non-teaching spaces.

However, the university had originally tried to avoid this last technique, said Pease, because such spaces “are not ideal learning environments.”

“We had hoped to minimize the disruption of taking students out of classrooms,” he wrote. “However, given the need to continue spreading people out, we have converted additional large spaces around campus to classroom seating.”

In addition to the

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Commons Ballroom where Van and Gerber now found themselves, the new non-teaching spaces that have been converted into classrooms include the Georgian Lounge, the Maucker Union University Room and computer lab, the Seerley Hall Great Reading Room and space in the Towers Center.

Not only are these new locations less ideal learning environments, according to Pease, they were also scheduled to host activities and events, which was another reason the university did not schedule classes there initially.

“All of those events have now been cancelled,” he wrote.

Pease also noted that changes in classroom locations and seating charts ref lect updated data and information.

“The seating arrangements we started the semester with were based on our best understanding of where we would be with state and local policies and COVID-19 rates in the state,” he wrote.

“This kind of planning cannot be a one-and-done process; we need to continually evaluate and adjust.”

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ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

CAROLINE CROW/Northern Iowan

The University Room in Maucker Union is one of several locations which have been converted into classrooms over the last week to allow students to better spread out during in-person classes and reduce the number of students who must quaratine when classmates test positive for COVID-19.

OPINION Disclaimer: The following opinion articles featured do not reflect the opinion of the Northern Iowan newspaper or staff as a whole.

LTE: Advocate for global poverty Did you know that you can advocate for the world’s poor, one email and a 30-second phone call at a time?

In fact, advocacy is defined

by Merriam-Webster as “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal.”

To advocate for a certain

cause it is important for the public to know how they can contact their senators and representatives. In fact, The Borgen Project action center makes it easy to find your representatives in Congress.

Therefore, anyone can email their senators and representative in support of a bill.

For example, I believe that advocating for the world’s poor can end global poverty and the Borgen Project beliefs align with mine. In fact, The Borgen Project website has prewritten emails

about bills and legislation that they are lobbying for.

Those emails advocate for the world’s poor and communicate about life-saving legislation and effective poverty-reduction programs. “ Your email to Congress matters because Congressional staffers keep a tally of every issue that people in their district contact their leader about. This information goes into a weekly report that is viewed by the congressional leader and key staff. Just one email will get

the issue or bill on your reader’s radar,” said The Borgen Project.

Congressional leaders often support poverty-reduction legislation when 7-10 people in their district contact them in support of it.

Here in Cedar Falls, Iowa, our representative is Abby Finkenauer and our senators are Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst. I urge readers to contact their senator to support the passage of poverty-reduction legislations.

NORTHERN IOWAN

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Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted by senior public relations major Nicole Iradukunda, who works as a public relations and marketing intern for the Borgen Project.

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CORRECTION In the Monday, Aug. 31 print issue of the Northern Iowan, the story titled ‘UNI COVID-19 data reporting begins’ reported that the positivity rate for COVID-19 testing through the UNI Student Health Center was 23%. The positivity rate at that time was actually 27%.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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PAGE 3

OPINION

EMMA’LE MAAS Executive Editor

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

Disclaimer: The following opinion articles featured do not reflect the opinion of the Northern Iowan newspaper or staff as a whole.

Goedken: Menstruation is not a choice DANI GOEDKEN

Opinion Columnist

On average people who get their period spend around $13.25 a month on menstrual products. An amenity that many people cannot afford but desperately need. Menstrual products have never and will never be a choice. No person, especially a student, should have to make a decision about if they can afford or find menstrual products. No one should ever have to prioritize anything over their health and wellbeing. UNI has shown this to be true in their supply of condoms on campus but where is the same support for people with a menstrual cycle?

Condoms are important; there is no denying that. Safe sex is an issue that needs to be addressed on many campuses, but the issue is usage, not supply. There is always a plentiful number of condoms on campus. Sex is natural and nor-

mal, and the supply of condoms should be high, but sex is also a choice that you make. You decide to have sex and decide to use a condom, which is also a very cheap purchase away from campus. Menstrual products are different. They are not a choice you make. People do not wake up one day and decide to start bleeding for a couple days straight.

Organizations and volunteers outside of the health center have worked to address this issue. NISG Campus Relations committee and their members have worked hard in previous semesters to collect products through the Menstrual Product Initiative. These products were collected by free will donations across campus. After collecting them, they were distributed and restocked across campus bathrooms until supplies diminished.

This project was a great success.

The volunteers had to restock the products twice a week in

PEXELS

most bathrooms because the need was so abundant. It was not long before the supply was gone. This initiative presented the need for these products and illustrated just how important it is to many students.

UNI is not doing enough to support students in their health and well-being. We have seen cuts to our mental health resources, STD testing and lack of menstrual products available.

It is important for all students

on campus to feel safe and protected by the health center.

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance finding or purchasing menstrual products, please reach out to me, Dani Goedken.

Montgomery: “Don’t treat life as a big picture” TYLER MONTGOMERY

Opinion Columnist

Try remembering a birthday, maybe when you were ten. You probably had a cake. It was probably severed by your mother. Now ask yourself, do you remember what her face looked like when you were ten?

Does it look like her face currently? Well, it seems as if you’ve rewritten that memory. So, what else have you’ve rewritten?

In a way, you are the creature from “Mary Shelly Frankenstein” and you are also Dr. Frankenstein. As humans, we do re-edit our memories. One way of looking at it is sometimes, we don’t know what memories will be important at the time. So why remember it?

Then, when you do have to drag it from the beneath, it’s presentable, but there are some gaps. For example, forgetting your mother’s face from the age of ten. Is it important then?

No. So, what is important to remember?

Now how can you trust

yourself to remember what is important? An experiment at Northwestern University asked 17 people to think of an ocean or a forest, just some kind of scenery. Then, place an apple layered on top. Then, when reshown the image, they were asked to put the apple back in place. They always placed it wrong. Later studies have shown that the brain doesn’t find the information to be important. So why remember? That in itself is an important part of the discussion. What is important? How many people don’t find history or mathematics important in their life? Why remember something that we can’t use in the future?

But we use math every day.

We make our own personal history.

The problem could be we teach ourselves what isn’t important at that moment, and then don’t realize until much later that it could be important. Is remembering your mother’s face at ten important? Thus, the individual needs to decide what is and isn’t important; really, we must think that

everything we do is worth the memory. Everything you learned and everything you’ve felt is the most impeccable discovery. All knowledge can be applied to all areas of life. That is one way of looking at knowledge. The problem is knowledge is memory. If you re-edit your memories, you’ve probably re-edited the knowledge you’ve sought.

Not remembering something can be very dangerous. You can mix up your thoughts. It’s not about remembering who you are; there is more to people than memories. It’s about remembering why you are. All the emotions, struggles, steps and sites that you have seen.

Although, if none of those are real, then why are you?

Why don’t you remember your mother’s face? That actually reveals a lot about you. You’ve told yourself that it’s not important to remember her face. So why isn’t it important? Well, as a child, you don’t think about these things. How is remembering her face going to help you in the future?

Why learn geometry if it won’t help me figure out my taxes? Well, first off, most people hire others to do their taxes. I’ve overheard people say that one in high school, please stop.

Here is one topic to think about. Her funeral.

When you’re at her funeral and you begin to remember all those past emotions, you can’t remember her face. You can’t put that over the former. It’s a little detail, but that’s why it’s so important. You should have even treated the little detail with the utmost respect. All

knowledge should be treated equally, even if you have no interest in it whatsoever.

Yes it changes, comes and goes, but you don’t know how it’ll affect you down the road.

Don’t treat life as one big picture. Look at each piece as another discovery.

It’s impossible to remember it all and the box may have left out three pieces, but it’s better than dig up the past and then sowing it together, only to leave it behind, because it looks nothing like what once was.

PEXELS

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CAMPUS LIFE SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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ANTHONY WITHEROW Campus Life Editor

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

Former Campus Life Editor getting married KAYLA LAWRENCE Staff Writer

What do you get when you take two unsuspecting employees, a pile of unused Chick-fil-A sauces, a scare in a bathroom, a global pandemic and a seemingly innocent bike ride that ends in the most memorable way? This is one riddle even Google won’t know the answer to. It’s the story of the Northern Iowan’s own former campus life editor, Sofia Legaspi and her fiancé Ian Dickens, a couple who couldn’t be more excited for their upcoming wedding on Sept. 19, 2020.

Theirs is a classic and timeless love story. They met working at Chick-fil-A during the summer of 2019. But unlike in the movies, their hands didn’t accidentally brush as they both reached for a napkin, and one didn’t slip on freshly mopped floors into the arms of the other, who stood seemingly ready to catch them. No, they shared their first conversation over unused sauces they were tasked to sanitize. Very much like in the movies, one conversation led to another which led to many, many more.

Seated comfortably close to one another, Legaspi and Dickens seemed at ease in each other’s presence as they told the story of their relationship through a screen. Even Zoom was unable to hide what was plainly clear: they were crazy about each other. Dickens had a warm and knowing smile, and Legaspi’s demeanor was chipper and affable as she recounted the story of the couple’s chance

ORCHESIS

continued from page 1

“We have had many changes to the Orchesis Dance Company due to COVID,” Lemke said. “I would say our biggest impact would be the University’s decision to cut the company as an academic course.

We are still the oldest student organization on campus and will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards. Our annual gala in which you attended was also postponed due to COVID, leaving us in a whirl of emotions not

meeting.

“I was working there; it was just a summer job. I was there regularly for three months, I think, and then after that I worked sporadically during school breaks. But that was our three-month window to meet,” Legaspi said. In those three months, Dickens acquired Legaspi’s phone number under the guise of her sending him a picture she’d taken. Just the next day, the two began their conversation anew, which continued almost nonstop until the day Dickens shocked Legaspi by asking her out as she cleaned the women’s restroom.

It should come as no surprise that when finally a year later it came time for Dickens to ask something of Legaspi again, he reached out to friends and family to surprise her. At this point his clever schemes had become something of a pastime.

“I was not very good at being subtle about it,” Dickens said, admitting that this time around the element of surprise wasn’t entirely successful. However, on May 30, 2020, when he suggested they take a bike ride up to High Trestle Bridge in Ankeny, surprising her became entirely unimportant. There among nature, friends and strangers, he got down on one knee and proposed.

“We were going on a bike ride supposedly,” said Legaspi with a laugh, “but we didn’t bike for very long.” The proposal, though expected by Legaspi, came as a complete surprise to her mom whose reaction was astonished but happy.

“I Facetimed my mom after and she was like, ‘What! You didn’t tell me!’,” Legaspi said.

Dickens jumped in then, defending himself good naturedly, saying that like Legaspi, her mother knew the proposal was impending, but only he knew when or how it would happen.

After that, the couple were launched into wedding planning in earnest. They’d begun planning even before their engagement, but that made it only slightly easier as they found themselves having to account for COVID-19 at every turn.

When they eventually had to distance themselves from each other to protect their families, they relied on technology. They made the most of their situation using shared Google sheets and docs for planning. When they couldn’t see each other in person, they used Facetime for some semblance of normalcy.

Even when it came time for Legaspi to find her dress, she ordered some dress options online and held her own virtual “Say Yes to the Dress” moment.

“I ordered, like, six different dresses online. Then I did a Zoom dress try-on party with my bridesmaids and some family members,” Legaspi said.

The list of their clever workarounds continues, including their couples shower, which became a drive-by event where they took pictures with visitors in their cars, a Zoom bridal shower and ultimately their final wedding plans which includes an ingenious livestream.

The modest 150 person wedding they’d been planning

knowing if we were ever going to perform these pieces in front of a live audience, let alone at all. It was a huge relief and sense of major accomplishment to get everything we have been working for on the stage last weekend.”

After the performances, the 2020 graduates were given a round of applause for their breathtaking performance. The recipient for the 2020-2021 scholarship was given to Maddie Engelke, a senior majoring in marketing with an emphasis in advertising and digital media.

The dancers came out and

ended the night with a well-deserved bow. While there was much uncertainty about when and if the show would go on, it turned out to be a wonderful success. The members hope future performances from the company will be open to the public.

The organization currently has 27 members present for the fall 2020 semester. Anyone who wishes to be a part of the Orchesis Dance Company, or would like to gain more information can contact Artistic Director Mandy

Masmar for more information.

NI Archives

turned to talk of something smaller that allowed social distancing. Their wedding became a small ceremony in Dickens’ parents’ backyard, with about 50 people. Their guest list includes close family, friends that make up the bridal party and a photographer. However, they plan to livestream the ceremony for Legaspi’s family in the Philippines and those friends and family unable to make it. In total, about 300 people should be in attendance. But Legaspi, who’s no friend of the spotlight, said there’s one thing that hasn’t changed.

“The theme is very lowkey. I do not enjoy being the center of attention,” Legaspi said. “We’ll have the ceremony and that’ll

be livestreamed like normal.

But for the reception we’re not doing anything big. We’re just going to have food and doughnuts and a bonfire. No speeches or first dances or anything.”

For their honeymoon, the couple rented an Airbnb in Tennessee by the Great Smoky Mountains. They plan to enjoy newly married life by hiking and enjoying the outdoors and each other’s company. Those here at the Northern Iowan wish the couple the best on their wedding day and in their journey of love and faith.

If you’d like to know more about the couple’s journey, visit their website at theknot.com/ sofian.

TONI FORTMANN/Northern Iowan

ANTHONY WITHEROW Campus Life Editor

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CAMPUS LIFE SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

“Tenet”: an incomprehensible spectacle HUNTER FRIESEN Film Critic

Spell it backward or forward, it spells the same. From Christopher Nolan - the virtuoso behind “The Dark Knight” Trilogy, “Inception” and “Dunkirk” - comes “Tenet,” an action blockbuster on a scale not seen before and that will never be replicated again.

Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time.

The plot summary I just gave you is the exact one supplied by the studio. I did this for fear of spoilers and because I cannot confidently give out any more information than what has already been covered.

“Tenet” may be the most incomprehensible and mentally straining movie ever made.

It feels like taking a whole semester of advanced physics in only one class period, all while being set in a warzone.

I have no doubt there will be case studies and theses done about this movie.

Nolan wastes no time throwing his audience over the deep end. He begins the film at a breakneck pace, moving from scene to scene in the blink of an eye. You struggle to grasp onto the high concept in real-time and are always playing catchup. This problem only exponentially gets worse as Nolan refuses to hold your hand as he goes further down the rabbit hole.

Even one of the characters in the movie says, “Don’t try

Tribune News Service Film critic Hunter Friesen reviews the new film, “Tenet”

to understand it, feel it”. It’s almost as if Nolan inserted that quip just for the audience.

The inability to follow the movie can be attributed to the out of the box concept, but mostly it falls on Nolan’s embarrassingly weak script.

The problems here are the same ones people have been saying about him for years now: that he overuses exposition and under-delivers on the emotional parts of his narrative.

“Tenet” is nearly all exposition and no emotion. Many times the exposition gives more questions than answers and seems to be intentionally leading us astray. It’s also Nolan’s coldest film as any emotion is forced through cliche storylines that seem

included to check off a box rather than tell a story.

On a technical level, “Tenet” is both Nolan’s most and least impressive film to date.

The action set-pieces mix both practical and visual effects seamlessly, creating awe-inspiring showcases of movie magic. The use of time inversion in fight sequences, car chases and an entire battle are just some of the moments that you have to see to believe.

Hoyte Van Hoytema encapsulates all the gorgeous chaos in stunning widescreen cinematography and composer Ludwig Göransson overtakes your ears with a perfect hardcharging score.

What’s a problem here, and has been for some time now,

is Nolan’s astoundingly poor sound mixing. Without hesitation, I can say that “Tenet” is the loudest movie I have ever seen. Every gunshot felt like it went off next to my ear and every explosion shook my entire body. The ungodly loud sound effects made it near impossible to comprehend much of the dialogue, which was already poorly mixed, to begin with. If you thought it was hard to understand Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” just wait until you try to understand what the characters are saying here.

Even with all my gripes, I was still enveloped in the world Nolan has created.

There have been dozens of movies where I was lost after a few minutes and checked out

for the remaining runtime.

With “Tenet,” I was lost after minute one and completely invested for the remaining one hundred forty-nine. Part of that interest comes from the spectacle and part of that comes from the likable cast.

In a star-making lead performance oozing with charisma, John David Washington plays our protagonist, who is literally called The Protagonist. He’s our vessel as he enters into this strange new world with no previous knowledge and must solve a deadly puzzle that goes against all logic.

Robert Pattinson keeps his hot streak going with another charming performance as The Protagonist’s sidekick, Neil.

Kenneth Branagh is intermittently good as our Russian villain, Andrei Sator. He’s exceptionally menacing in the quieter moments and cartoonishly over-the-top in his moments of outburst.

Elizabeth Debicki plays the most emotionally resonant character as the helpless wife of our villain. Debicki is great in the role but is unfairly used more as an object for the story.

Overall: 3.5/5 “Tenet” is a full-on assault of the senses that contains unparalleled moments of spectacle and ambition. It’s nowhere near the top of Nolan’s filmography and will surely require multiple viewings to unravel. Make sure to pack some ibuprofen and prepare to have your mind twisted in ways you never thought possible.

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SPORTS SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

FOOTBALL

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

COLIN HORNING Sports Editor

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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

Panther profile: Patriots’ Xavier Williams NICHOLAS SCHINDLER Sports Writer

After being undrafted coming out of the University of Northern Iowa, defensive lineman Xavier Williams was able to become a Super Bowl champion last year with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Williams was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and began his football career at Grandview High School. He was a first-team all-conference selection and was named to the Suburban Mid-Six team in 2009. Not only was he a great football player, but he also was a wrestler who qualified twice for the state tournament in Missouri while in high school.

Williams decided to attend the University of Northern Iowa post-high school. He

played as a defensive tackle for the Panthers from 2010-2014 and was named All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First team honors in his final two seasons. His dominant play also granted him an opportunity to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, a

game in which the best players in college football play to show their talents to NFL teams. Williams performed well in the game, but unfortunately he was still not drafted.

After going undrafted in the 2015 draft, the Arizona Cardinals signed Williams.

He played for the Cardinals for three seasons but after the third season left Arizona for a better contract offer from the Kansas City Chiefs, which the Cardinals could not match. In just his second season with the Chiefs, Williams was part of the Chiefs’ playoff run and is now a Super Bowl Champion. Throughout his career, Williams has 83 tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles.

After winning the Super Bowl with the Chiefs last season, Williams became a free agent and visited the Tampa

UNI Athletics

Williams during his time at UNI. He was a two-time all-conference selection and an anchor on the Panther defensive line while donning the Purple and Gold.

Bay Buccaneers before working out for the New England Patriots. On Aug. 22nd, 2020, Williams signed a contract

with the Patriots. He will be looking to repeat as a Super Bowl Champ this season in New England.

OPINION

Athletes need to do more to see desired change COLIN HORNING

Sports Editor

If you’ve followed the newly revived sports world recently, then chances are you’ve been exposed to the many social justice messages from athletes regarding the recent racial unrest in the United States in the year 2020.

The NBA has been allowing players to put social justice messages such as “Black Lives Matter” or “Equality” on the back of their jerseys in the Orlando bubble setup. The NFL has announced that they will play the Black national anthem before every single week one game this season, in response to the requests of many Black players. And before the first games of the NBA’s bubble, MLB’s Opening Day and many other sports leagues, multiple teams and players took a knee during the national anthem before the game, in solidarity with the racial unrest in the country. While I believe that it’s acceptable for professional athletes to bring attention to causes they believe in, the manner in which they are currently doing so is not doing much to bring about change.

Most of the protesting and calls for social justice seen nowadays in professional sports stems from former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, when he began kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016-17 season. Kaepernick claims he was trying to bring atten-

tion to social issues such as police brutality and racial oppression of minorities in the United States, but never seemed to have a specific issue he was looking to resolve.

Regardless of his motivation, he started a trend that to this day is still prevalent in sports: athletes protesting during the national anthem. When Kaepernick started doing it, he was the first of his kind, and it was almost unheard of. Nowadays, there are players such as Jonathan Issac of the Orlando Magic or Sam Coonrod of the San Francisco Giants who are criticized by some because they didn’t take a knee for the anthem. In a matter of just a few years, players protesting while in the field of play has become the norm.

Professional athletes, while sometimes perceived as superhuman due to their extraordinary athletic ability, have all of the same rights as anyone else to bring attention to an issue. However, they have also been bestowed with more wealth and fame than most people will ever know. This gives these people an incredible opportunity to use their spotlight for real change, yet many simply go along with the national trends without actually doing what is necessary to bring change in the issues they see. Kneeling for the national anthem is a whole other debate, but regardless of which side one is on I believe that it does little to actually solve the issues that

many professional athletes are protesting. Putting the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on your jersey or on the court for NBA games might bring awareness to an organization or cause, but does little to actually change anything.

Instead of using hashtags and shouting slogans, outspoken professional athletes such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry should use their platforms to work with people who can actually bring their messages into reality. Meeting with their elected leaders and legislators, bringing certain issues to the attention of these leaders and hashing out specific details on reforms they want to accomplish is a much better way of going about a movement, rather than sitting on the sidelines and tweeting hashtags.

Professional athletes have enough of a following and enough leverage that they could easily meet with elected leaders and work with them to make change in the world that they wish to see. But until enough athletes collectively decide to do this, I believe that their ideas will not become a reality. Kneeling for the national anthem and sitting on Twitter will only go so far; actually having a specific list of ideas and goals and working with the people who can bring said goals into reality would be a much better way of going about it. Until this is acted upon, nothing will change.

Tribune News Service

Top: NBA players such as LeBron James (middle) and others have been outspoken about recent racial unrest in the United States this year.

Bottom: Orlando Magic player Jonathan Issac was one of the few NBA players to not kneel during the national anthem, citing religous reasons.

PAGE 7

FUN & GAMES

KARLA DE BRUIN Managing Editor

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

SUDOKU ONE

CROSSWORD

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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

SUDOKU TWO

quistadores 50 Oliver Twist or Tiny Tim 52 Beauty treatment for poultry?

58 Half-hearted 61 “There’s __ in team” 62 Laundry employee 63 Big-screen entertainment for angels?

68 Hurdle for srs.

69 First religious leader of his title to be called “The Great” 70 Guy 71 Charlottesville sch.

72 Tools for some crossword solvers 73 500-mile race 74 Furry friend

Down

1 Derby cocktail 2 For face value 3 Japanese takeout orders 4 Many an off-campus local 30 Honey, in slang Across 5 An Allman brother 31 Zip 1 Quick blow 6 Suffix with robot 32 Lot choice 4 Weary worker’s sigh 7 Budgetary excess 36 Wall St. event 8 Dives 38 Enforcer of some ACA 8 Fendi rival 15 4 x 4, briefly 9 Seuss activist provisions 16 Six-ton predator 10 Amer. capital 39 Vague unease 17 Leopard spot 41 Transmitted documents 11 Bk. before Esther 18 ICU staffer 19 False claim about one’s with Red Riding Hood’s 12 Classic muscle cars 13 Shorthand for unlisted location? pioneer ancestors? items 45 Bending movement 21 Taking courses?

14 Alluring 46 __ clear 23 Crest box abbr.

20 With 35-Down, papery 47 Large receptacle 24 Crafty construction best left alone 25 Medieval German spend- 48 Nods, maybe 49 It was precious to con- 22 Filmmaker Lupino thrift?

26 Blacksmith wear 27 For fear that 28 Capital on a fjord 29 Patricia of “Hud” 33 Tending to, as the loot 34 Like pirates, often 35 See 20-Down 36 Uncertain 37 Part of IPA 38 Midori in a rink 39 Gourd fruit 40 Piercing tool 42 Corner off. occupant 43 Share juicy details 44 Fabled braggart 49 Dust Bowl migrant 50 Dancing dinosaur 51 Kitchen gadget maker 53 __ circle 54 Pacific salmon 55 Brandish 56 Guts 57 “That’s what I’m talking about!”

58 Sanitizing cloth 59 Latin love 60 California tourist valley 64 Kisses, in love letters 65 Paris’ __ de la Cité 66 “What __ missing?”

67 FedEx fleet member

Puzzle answers on page 8

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CLASSIFIEDS

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 |

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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KARLA DE BRUIN Managing Editor

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 5

Puzzle Answers SUDOKU ONE

SUDOKU TWO

CROSSWORD