12-10-10

The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

Northern Iowan

Friday, December 10, 2010

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Volume 107, Issue 27

Cedar Falls, Iowa

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Men’s Basketball Cold shooting dooms the Panthers

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Location: Page 10

No Dead Week here In the capitol SARAH KELZER

Staff Writer

ANNA SCHRECK/Northern Iowan From left to right; Ben Peterson, Shay Trask and Jenny Moeller, junior business majors, attend Oral Communications. The week before finals is traditionally considered Dead Week at many universities.

What Inspires You? ALLISON OSTWINKLE Staff Writer

On Dec. 7, the University of Northern Iowa community was inspired to look into traditions for our influences.

Jeremy Schraffenberger, a poet and UNI professor of English, gave a speech at the University Museum about how traditions can be used

to discuss poetic influence.

Schraffenberger has been a professor in the UNI English department for just two years, but he’s been writing poetry since high school.

During his speech, formally titled “On Becoming a Traditional Poet,” Schraffenberger discussed not only his own influences,

The week before finals for some universities has been declared Dead Week in order to help students review and prepare for final examinations. It is not a list of mandatory rules but more of a series of guidelines universities prefer professors and students to follow.

During Dead Week at these universities, 23 hours are deemed mandatory quiet hours with one hour left for See DEAD WEEK, page 4

but also the inspiration and ideas of many great poets, such as Barry Lopez, Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Ron Silliman and Robert Pinsky.

According to Schraffenberger, inspiration can come from anywhere.

He discussed stories from his past, including a story about how he stole a book in grade school that was See INSPIRATION, page 3

COURTESY PHOTO

Jeremy Schraffenberger, poet and UNI professor of English, expressed his definitions of inspiration and how it has affected his writing over the past years.

NISG increases lobbying efforts in preparation for 2011 legislative session JOHN ANDERSON Executive Editor

The Northern Iowa Student Government senate recently passed a resolution that encourages state legislators to consider instating a statewide sales tax holiday on textbooks at the beginning of each semester.

“

A lot of people feel restricted because we (the student government) have no binding power on the state government; however, we can write resolutions (and) use them as lobbying efforts. It’s a piece of paper, but at least it’s something that we can (use to) at least make an effort to help the student body out.

Jared Parker NISG senator

The resolution, which was unanimously passed during the senate’s Dec. 1 meeting, will be sent to university, city and state leaders.

According to Senator Jared Parker, who first drafted the resolution, the idea for a sales tax holiday on textbooks stems from the current tax holiday on school supplies that occurs on the weekend before public schools are in session.

Students at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, which own their own bookstores, can currently mail in a rebate for the tax paid for their textbooks.

The suggested tax holiday on textbooks, however, would eliminate the hassle

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and paperwork involved with the rebates and benefit universities and businesses across the state of Iowa, which must compete against online book sales, said Spencer Walrath, chair of the External Relations Committee for NISG. “Books generally tend to be cheaper online,” Walrath said. “You can buy them used; it’s a much fairer price.

What you lack is the convenience of getting the book, you lack the ability to know what edition it is – because the bookstore has the right book; amazon.com may not have the right book. They may not have released that edition yet, the book you need for the class may be one written by the professor… that’s not out in the publishing world.”

According to Parker, local businesses and the state will also benefit from increased revenue as a result of the local commerce.

“Students will spend that (saved) money elsewhere,” Parker said. “They’ll probably spend it on tuition, they’ll spend it on other supplies – in fact, if they’re going to a local store, they’ll probably spend that money at the store.”

While he feels the benefits to students are clear, Walrath believes that NISG must focus on the benefits to the state of Iowa in their lobbying efforts for this and other resolutions.

“They know that everyone is strapped for money right now,” Walrath said.

“They have every sort of See LOBBYING, page 3

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NEWS

St. Stephen the Witness to present John Angotti SARA STRICKLAND Staff Writer

On Dec. 15, St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center will present singer-songwriter John Angotti at the Gallagher -Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.

Angotti, a Christian music artist, will debut his new CD, “Extraordinary Love,” in addition to songs from his “Welcome Home for Christmas” CD. Waterloo Columbus High School students, Don Bosco High School students, Tipton High School students and St. Stephen’s UNI students will be joining Angotti on stage. All four choirs will unite to perform as one.

Angotti began playing the piano at a young age and participated in his church’s children’s choir.

After considering becoming a priest, Angotti decided to cultivate the musical talent God gave him. Currently,

Angotti tours and participates in workshops that gear toward showing the young population how to take the usual, conventional hymn and mix it with modern and more unique, upbeat rhythms, therefore making church music more engaging to youth.

All proceeds from the evening will go to St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center.

The money “supports retreats, service trips, and provides games and activities — everything the UNI students use here. This is definitely for the students’ benefit. It helps us to able to provide these opportunities,” said Kelly McCormick, St. Stephen’s development coordinator.

Angotti’s concert will give students a chance to showcase their ability.

“It’s a fantastic way to highlight the students and their talent,” McCormick said.

Angotti is no stranger to

the area.

“John has been active in the Cedar Valley,” McCormick said. “In the past he’s been involved with Waterloo schools.”

Angotti also has attracted people from areas surrounding the Cedar Valley, including Dubuque and Gilbertville. Considering how successful Angotti’s past concerts have been, McCormick is hoping for another repeat for a successful turnout.

If anything, McCormick is glad to have Angotti back to put the community into the Christmas spirit.

“It’s another great way to get into the spirit of Christmas,” she said.

“Everyone is welcome to a great night of beautiful Christmas music.”

Angotti’s performance will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the GBPAC. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students.

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NISG CANDIDATE

northern-iowan.org

fall election results RESULTS

VOTES

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT SSB 2011-22

Passed

364-63

Elected Elected Elected Elected

205 209 215 208

UNIVERSITY AT LARGE Jill Hohnecker Kaleigh White Raychael Garringer Tiffany Koss OFF CAMPUS Adam Beaves Derek Boeding Trevor Boeckmann Adam Wass Andrew Scherf Melissa Mormann Patrick Brinkman Rhonda Greenway

Elected Elected Elected Elected Retained Retained Retained Retained

120 155 26 3 116-47 120-50 121-46 120-50

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION Chris Miller

Retained

65-13

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND FINE ARTS Retained

Ian Goldsmith

87-8

COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES Elected

Orijit Kar

48

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Daniel Vargason LAWTHER HALL Erin Trample

Retained

47-6

Retained

22-10

UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS Patrick Moreno

Not Retained

6-6

RESIDENTS ON THE HILL COMPLEX Alexander Zenor BENDER HALL Eric Carlson

Retained

15-4

Retained

13-1

HAGEMANN HALL

SCOTT KINTZEL

NICK ROOS Advisor

Contact Information Northern Iowan Office

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8-5 319.273.2157

CASSIE TEGELER Features Editor tegelerc@uni.edu

KARI BRAUMANN Copy Editor braumank@uni.edu

Managing Editor kintzsaa@uni.edu 319.849.8042

ANNA SCHRECK Photo Editor schreaaa@uni.edu

SETH HADENFELDT Advertising Executive

JAMIE HARTHOORN Advertising Executive

SCOTT KINTZEL Production Typesetter Webmaster

BRANDON POLL Videographer

MICHELE SMITH

Northern Iowan Manager

ALEX KIMBALL

Business Assistant

SAMANTHA KUENY Business Assistant

Circulation

News Editor jeffriel@uni.edu

Senior Production

Editorial Assistants

563.580.3983

LEAH JEFFRIES

CHRIS VAAGE

Production Staff

Executive Editor anderjao@uni.edu

Sports Editor eilersb@uni.edu

Northern Iowan Staff

JOHN ANDERSON

Et cetera

BRAD EILERS

Editorial Staff

L011 Maucker Union Cedar Falls, IA 50614 www.northern-iowan.org Friday, November 12, 2010 Volume 107, Issue 22

Advertising Staff

NORTHERN IOWAN

Undecided CODY SCHWICHTENBERG Circulation

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Editorial Assistants at the Northern Iowan are a team of volunteers who assist the Copy Editor in reviewing content.

The Northern Iowan is published semiweekly on Tuesday and Friday during the academic year; weekly on Friday during the summer session, 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.

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All material is copyright © 2010 by the Northern Iowan and may not be used without permission.

NEWS

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LOBBYING continued from page 1

demographic and citizen advocacy group coming to their office every day saying, ‘We don’t have enough money; can you give us more, can you give us a break?’ And they really want to help us, but they also want to try to make a budget where we don’t go millions and billions of dollars in deficit.

So appealing to them on the basis that this saves students money will not be as effective as saying this spurs local business development, this spurs the local economy to grow and it fosters a connection between students and their local communities.”

Parker feels the resolution is an important step the student government can take to benefit students.

“A lot of people feel restricted because we (the student government) have no binding power on the state government; however, we can write resolutions (and) use them as lobbying efforts,” he said. “It’s a piece of paper, but at least it’s something that we can (use to) at least make an effort to help the student body out. While it may not guarantee that it will be passed, it’s something that we the student body can say, ‘Hey, this is something we like.’”

NISG in Des Moines The resolution is one of several steps the student government is taking to represent UNI and its students at

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the state capitol. Last year the senate created the External Relations Committee and the Director of Governmental Relations position for the sole purpose of lobbying for students with the university, the city government and the state government.

“The purpose of (the External Relations Committee) is to work with state and city governments to basically advance student interests,” said Walrath, who drafted the bill to create the committee and director position last year. “So we work with legislators, saying these are the concerns that students have, what are the concerns that you have about us?

How can we work together for the best interests of students?”

Jennifer Nulty currently serves as the first ever Director of Governmental Relations, and provides “a consistent face to the legislators, which is something they appreciate,” Walrath said.

While Nulty and the External Relations Committee were primarily concerned with encouraging students to vote in the midterm elections this semester, their focus has shifted to lobbying efforts as the next legislative session draws near.

Nulty plans to visit the state capitol in Des Moines once every two weeks during the spring semester, and encourages students to join her and lobby for their concerns.

Nulty also encourages students to take part in special lobbying days, like the Regents Day on March 7, during

NISG president vetoes constitutional overhaul JOHN ANDERSON

Executive Editor

The constitutional overhaul bill passed by the Northern Iowa Student Government senate on Dec. 1 was vetoed by Student Body President Joel Anderson Monday.

The president disagreed with a change in SSB 2011-28 that would move the statement that senate meetings are open to the public to the bylaws, stating that such a move makes transparency “no longer a right given to students, but a privilege granted to students.”

Anderson also expressed

INSPIRATION continued from page 1

signed by Ginsberg himself.

“Poetic theft,” he said, is being inspired by what others write or past poets and considering their ideas. To describe flowing with an influence rather than joining it, he compared it to confluence, which is typically known as the joining of two rivers.

Schraffenberger’s most important point of the night, however, was one of tradition.

“It’s not just the past, but

concern over a section that would contradict another section of the constitution and another that would create practical concerns regarding compensation for executive officers.

A revised bill was brought to the senate Wednesday night that would address the president’s concerns with the bill.

Trevor Boeckmann, serving as Senator Ryan Trump’s proxy, moved to suspend the bill indefinitely, arguing that the revised bill should be thrown out and a new amendment created from scratch. The motion passed by a vote of 11-6-3. the present as well,” he said.

He also pointed out how tradition affects the arts.

To the UNI community, Schraffenberger would most like to communicate that “writing poetry is not necessarily a solitary act of genius, that there really isn’t such thing as the muse, that good poetry is hard work.”

And what is Schraffenberger’s main inspiration?

“Nothing, but everything,” said Schraffenberger.

which students from the three Regents institutions will lobby for higher education at the capitol.

“There’s an opportunity for students to come and actually be at the capitol and help lobby there,” Nulty said of Regents Day. “It’s nothing intimidating; it’s kind of fun: you get Jennifer Nulty to dress up and go to Des Moines for a day and talk to people, and it’s good to make connections with people and get to know your legislator.”

Nulty and the External Relations Committee will also be hosting lobbying training workshops in the spring for all students interested in lobbying to increase the University of Northern Iowa’s presence in Des Moines.

NISG is also currently planning to hold specialized lobbying sessions to increase awareness of UNI programs, including an arts day on March 28, during which members of UNI’s art, music and theatre departments will display their talent to legislators.

“The legislators, when they come out of their sessions, they see all this out in the rotunda and say, ‘Wow, this is really interesting stuff; these people are really talented. Where are you guys from?’ And we’ll say, ‘UNI.’ And then we can kind of

PAGE 3 go into detail, like, ‘We could really use your support on this upcoming bill; it’s important that we retain the ability to go to school here at UNI thanks to your funding,’” Walrath said.

Nulty encourages students to take part in the lobbying efforts by contacting their state legislators and NISG senators and sharing their interests and concerns.

“Just write an email, or write a letter, or come into the NISG office and fill out a postcard that just says, ‘Hi, I’m a student. When you increase tuition, it really affects me and this is why,’ or, ‘This is why I love UNI; it’s a great place, please keep funding it.’ Just a little note, just a simple email – it can just be introducing yourself and maybe creating some sort of relationship with your legislator – is a really good thing,” Nulty said.

Walrath encouraged students to join the External Relations Committee, which is open to all UNI students, not just NISG senators, and to share their personal story with their state legislators. “(Legislators) love personal stories,” he said. “If students could write even just a onepage letter to their legislator saying, ‘Hi, my name is Spencer Walrath. I’ve been through these struggles to attain my college education, and it’s really important to me that I go to school here in state because I love family, I want to stay with my family, and I’d like to

stay here, find a job here in Iowa, and raise my own family here in Iowa.’ These personal stories of not only your own struggles but your future plans to stay in Iowa are what really sells senators and representatives on whatever it is you’re talking to them about.”

Dr. Sue Follon Scholarship for Women in Leadership Dr. Sue Follon served as Vice President for Educational and Student Services at the University of Northern Iowa from 1985 until her death from lung cancer on November 4, 1998. She was the first women to be named vice president at UNI.

Scholarship Guidlines for 2011-2012 Description and Criteria: This scholarship recognizes students for their leadership contributions to UNI and potential to model leadership for women. Applicants should show evidence of leadership potential through their awareness of social issues, including those affecting women; desire to make a difference; demonstrated commitment to serving others; and ethical behavior. The committee will consider both breadth and depth of leadership activities. Consideration will be given to leadership accomplishments, particularly at UNI, as well as potential future contributions. Applicants must be undergraduate students who have completed at least 30 credit hours and will be returning for the following academic year (both fall and spring semesters) and are required to be full-time students each semester. A cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher is required.

Amount: $3,500 one-year award applied directly to the student’s university bill (half each semester).

Application deadline: You are required to use the Common Scholarship Application at http://www.uni. edu/finaid/. The deadline for submission is Tuesday, February 15.

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NEWS

UNI’s NABL receives FRA grant MARKITA CURRIE Staff Writer

The University of Northern Iowa’s Ag-Based Lubricants Center (NABL) has received a Federal Railroad Administration grant of $371,373.

The FRA approved these grants to continue research for the use of bio-

DEAD WEEK continued from page 1

“Rowdy Hour.” Student organizations are not allowed to meet or sponsor events and professors are advised to not assign large projects if not previously stated on the syllabus.

Dead Week policies and guidelines are put into effect to remind instructors that most students are

fuels for locomotive freight and passenger trains which could create a possible recommendation of a superior biofuel mixture for locomotive engines through the use of soybeans.

“Expanding the use of soybean-based lubricants throughout the railroad industry reduces the environmental footprint of the

U.S. transportation industry as a whole, while at the same time benefitting the environment and creating new opportunities for Iowa’s agricultural producers,” said Wes James, associate director of UNI’s NABL. UNI NABL, led by Lou Honary and Wes James, will not waste any time

enrolled in several courses each year, but also to remind students that academics is their number one priority as college students and that studying appropriately throughout the semester is their responsibility.

Some students at the University of Northern Iowa would like to see Dead Week happen here. Julie Beukema, a junior crimi-

nology major, wants to have a Dead Week because she believes the time would be beneficial.

“It would help with the stress of final papers, presentations and exams.

Maybe there would even be enough time to relax a little and take a breather,” said Beukema.

Iowa State University introduced Dead Week in 2001, making it an offi-

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putting the grant to good use. The funding will be used for research evaluating the feasibility of using readily biodegradable, soybean-based lubricants and greases for locomotives, rolling stock cars and maintenance equipment.

The NABL team is hoping to find the readily biodegradable mixture to help take the stress off of farmers and the environment. Currently the rail-

road industry uses over 10 million pounds of grease per year, and even a small breakthrough mixture with vegetable oil or soybean would help reduce this amount. The United States Department of Agriculture states that in order for rail curve grease to be “readily” biodegradable it must be 30 percent bio-based materials. “Readily” means it will mostly dissolve within 28 days in the environment.

cial university-recognized event. Dustin Nemmers, an Iowa State junior majoring in Spanish education, believes that Dead Week is currently nonexistent.

“I always thought Dead Week was dedicated to the preparation for finals; however, it never ends up this way. I think they should just get rid of this term or actually have more of a Dead Week,” said Nemmers.

Nemmers added that every Dead Week he has experienced has involved important projects, presentations, and papers that greatly affect the outcome of his final grade.

Dead Week is not meant to make final exams harder, yet Michael Licari, UNI’s Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and dean of the Graduate College, believes that some professors would see Dead Week as an opportunity to increase the weight of finals.

“If, for example, I would normally assign a short paper in the last week of the exam, I would have to choose to move the assignment earlier, which may not be possible, or I would have to cover that material in a longer or more difficult final exam,” Licari said.

Joe Pins, an Iowa State freshman, disagrees.

“As far as tests go for finals week, my teachers say they are only longer and maybe a little easier than normal exams. Their main goal is just to get the students to grasp the main and most important concepts,” he said.

Erick Bradtke, also an Iowa State freshman, agreed and added, “They already have a whole semester of info to include so I don’t think they make them harder. If anything, they might make the test longer.”

At UNI, Dean Franzen, a mathematics instructor, does not believe he would make his final examination harder if UNI adopt-

ed Dead Week. He follows his own version of Dead Week.

“I think it’s ok because I kind of do that now – I don’t do any quizzes the last week, don’t do any exams, but I do have assignments that are not graded that my students are expected to complete,” said Franzen.

Alex Oletski, a UNI freshman earning her athletic training degree, agrees with Franzen because of the stress of her academic life.

“I have to maintain a certain GPA to stay in the athletic training program, so anything helps.

Therefore, I don’t think that teachers have the right to make tests harder, but they should have the right to make them longer,” said Oletski. “But if (students) care about their grades and want to do well, they have to take on that responsibility.”

Even if UNI added Dead Week, it would not affect everyone. Kenneth Lyftogt, a UNI lecturer in history, does not have a final for his classes, only a unit exam.

“Even if I had a final, I’d be against (dead week.) It’s the same thing with what I’ve seen. Thanksgiving break used to be just Thursday and Friday. But then you never saw anyone on Wednesday. Eventually, we got the whole week off,” said Lyftogt. “So anytime you start doing something like that, it just cuts into actual class time – so I’m not for it at all.”

If UNI felt the need to include an official Dead Week, it would likely start with the Northern Iowa Student Government.

NISG would suggest it to the student body while discussing and examining the proposal. Then, NISG would take it to the Faculty Senate where they would need the consent of the provost’s office and it would need final approval by the university administartion.

What do you think?

Should UNI adopt a Dead Week? Join in the conversation by visiting our website:

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The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

Features

Friday, December 10, 2010

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Volume 107, Issue 27

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Cedar Falls, Iowa

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UNI School of Music presents ‘Chimes of Christmas’

By ARIEL HAWKINS Staff Writer

No holiday season is complete without holiday music.

On Dec. 7 at the GallagherBluedorn Performing Arts Center, the vocal groups of the University of Northern Iowa School of Music presented “Chimes of Christmas” — a performance that welcomed the holiday season.

The show was conducted

by Dyan Meyer and John Len Wiles and featured Benjamin Hoskins on organ as well as Marcos Grano de Oro, Peter Roberts and Michelle Swanson on piano.

Throughout the performance, the combined choirs filed between the aisles of the performance hall, stood on the balcony and sang on stage to create a purely resonant sound, filling the hall with holiday spirit as they sang “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” accompanied by cellist Lyudmila Lebedeva and “Ding Dong! Merrily On High” conducted by Dyan Meyer.

After the opening songs, the combined choirs split into their own groups. The

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The Band Perry to perform at UNI

By JESSICA SNOOK Staff Writer

ARIEL HAWKINS/Northern Iowan

Dyan Meyer conducts Lyudmila Lebedeva’s solo at the opening of the Chimes of Christmas performance.

first group to perform was the UNI Singers, followed by the Women’s Chorus, Cantorei, Concert Chorale and finally, the combined choirs sang again.

Between some of the transitions of groups, the

audience was invited to sing.

Led by student conductors, the audience performed four pieces throughout the course of the night.

The vocal groups performed a total of 12 holiday songs and the audience

Circus coming to town UNI students to perform ‘Sissy’s Sircus’ at Oster Regent Theatre

By MAGGIE DONOVAN

seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seats, taking in every syllable of the vocalists as they performed.

As the combined choirs finished their final piece, the audience stood with cheers and excited clapping.

‘Love and Other Drugs’ a must-see

Staff Writer

By EMILY HEYER

There’s a circus coming to town, but it isn’t your typical acrobatic, elephant-riding, three-ring circus full of magic trickery. It’s Sissy’s Sircus, a full-length burlesque show that’s sure to please.

Sissy’s Sircus is a recurring project created by Bryan Allen, University of Northern Iowa alumna Laura Neill and UNI senior A.J. Smit. This show is the second installment of Sissy’s Sircus that was first presented last year at the Oster Regent Theatre.

The performance will take place Jan. 6-7 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. at the Oster Regent Theatre on the corner of 1st and Main Street in Cedar Falls.

This year Sissy’s Sircus is presenting “Welcome to the Candy Shop.”

If you’ve ever wanted to see what can happen when Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal are left to their own amazing acting abilities with a fairly decent script without “Brokeback Mountain” in the way, then put “Love and Other Drugs” on your must-see list.

This sharp movie, set in the 1990s, tells the story of Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal), a new drug sales representative for Pfizer. Between seducing secretaries and pimping for doctors to sell his drugs, Jamie meets Maggie Murdock, a 20 something artist with a quick wit, a soft spot for the elderly, a healthy appetite for no-strings-attached sex and unfortunately, earlyonset Parkinson’s Disease.

Film Critic

MAGGIE DONOVAN/Northern Iowan

(From left) Ben Ostrem, Joslyn Siems, Riley Sheetz, Dylan Martin, Riley Germann and AJ Smit rehearse for Sissy’s Sircus.

“Instead of a circus, we have more of a candy theme going through,” said director Laura Neill. “Sissy has this group of candy shop employees and they’re working on a show because Sissy wants to be a performer more than anything in the world, so she is creating this show with her candy shop employees.”

The story of Sissy’s Sircus can best be told by Sissy Allen herself.

“To me, Sissy’s Sircus is just a group of misfits,” she said. “It’s like the show ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ Sissy was a loner in this whole story because this is the second See SISSY’S CIRCUS, page 8

One of the nation’s top musical sensations is coming to the University of Northern Iowa this winter.

The Band Perry, a country group consisting of siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry, will perform on Feb. 24 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Maucker Union Ballroom.

Many students are already planning on buying their tickets. Jen Rich, a junior elementary education and early childhood education major, is ecstatic. “If I Die Young” is her favorite song from the group.

Rich’s love for the song is shared by many other country fans. “If I Die Young” has reached the top of the charts in country music and has been nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award in the category of “Country Song of the Year.”

The concert is sponsored

by Panther Productions and the UNI Campus Activities Board. More information on tickets will be available early spring semester.

The story that follows is as much about Jamie’s success in business and self-realization as it is the love story that inevitably springs from their seemingly insatiable lust for each other.

“Love and Other Drugs” is not your typical romantic comedy. It has more substance and more genuine feelings that result in lending itself more towards drama. However, the romance is still all there (the clothes aren’t) and there are parts of this movie that are genuinely funny, which gives it the honor of being a romantic drama comedy, or rom dramedy.

The two leads, Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, are reunited from their coupling in “Brokeback Mountain,” and the pair has chemistry that makes you wonder how they See FILM, page 8

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UNI Gallery of Art to feature various students’ works

By TEHRENE FIRMAN Staff Writer

The University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art will feature the works of five students in the “B.F.A. Group Exhibition” from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18.

An opening reception is set for Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. and will be free and open to the public.

Darrell Taylor, director of the UNI Gallery of Art, recommends that people check out this student exhibition.

“This is a once-a-semester opportunity to see what our

graduating art students have accomplished before heading out into the workforce to become teachers, designers or working artists.”

The five students highlighted in the exhibition have many different talents to showcase for the community.

“I create paintings by recycling my old works of art that are then used to set guidelines and stand as mental maps for my recent works,” said Jill Buenzow of Waterloo, who is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree with an emphasis on painting. “This exhibition

contains abstract paintings that have an atmospheric space for the viewers to explore via color and texture.”

E. Christiana Byrne of Mason City is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree with an emphasis in jewelry/metals. With her exhibition titled “Nostalgia,” Byrne will show a visual narrative of the items we keep for memory’s sake.

Her inspiration for this showcase came from growing up in a house filled with antiques and family stories.

Jason Corbett Fogue of Des Moines, who is pursuing

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a bachelor of arts degree in art education with an emphasis in performance art and photography, uses a documentary approach to portraiture. He believes that by presenting the subject in this manner, the character of the sitter can be read more objectively by the viewer. Fogue will be using large-format film to invite closer inspection of fine detail.

His body of work utilizes the sport of boxing to explore male identity and persona.

Laura Anne Huisinga of Cedar Rapids is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree with an emphasis in graphic design. Her exhibition, “Revamp: All Things Altered Anew,” stresses clean, open designs and represents the culmination of her time at UNI. She hopes to combine her passion for design and the environment together to “plant the seed of change in order to end wasteful behaviors.”

Sarah Kolar of Spirit Lake, who is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree with an emphasis in sculpture, is continually intrigued by the contrasting interior and exterior views of forms in sculpture as well as the process that creates them.

“My current work is largescale sculpture created out of rod wire and woven cloth emphasizing the volume and organic nature of the forms,”

...And Now a Word From NISG! NISG Has a New Look: Look forward to seeing our new logo on campus soon!

Event of The Month: NISG would like to recognize LSAT Information Session hosted by UNI Business Pre-Law Club as the event of the Month. The event was held on November 9th with the purpose of informing students who are going to attend or thinking about attending a Law school in the future. Pre- Law Club did a great job hosting the student panel and sharing information about the test. As the result, students who attended the event founded it to be extremely helpful and informative. Many students had done very well on the exam thanks to the help of the Club. Besides this event, UNI Business Pre-Law Club is hosting number of events throughout the year with the purpose to inform and help students who are thinking about careers in Law field. Those events proved to be successful and useful in terms of providing interested students with knowledge and tools to be successful in pursuing their future goals.

If you want to know more about the event or the organization, contact Joshua Lastine at lastine@uni.edu If you have any questions or comments regarding NISG, contact us at www.uni.edu/NISG

“This is a once-a-semester opportunity to see what our graduating art students have accomplished before heading out into the workforce to become teachers, designers or working artists.”

Darrell Taylor UNI Gallery of Art director

she said.

“The best part of this exhibition is discovering how these students have integrated their ideas with the compositional skills they’ve learned in the UNI Department of Art,” Taylor said. “The students participating in this exhibition learned first hand how to organize, hang and promote their artwork. This is perhaps the most valuable thing they’ll learn before heading out into the wider art world to practice their craft.”

The gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, and noon to 5 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday. The gallery is located at the corner of Hudson Road and West 27th Street on the main floor of Kamerick Art Building South.

For more information call 319-273-3095 or visit www. uni.edu/artdept/gallery.

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Northern Iowan staff choices for top albums of 2010 Compiled by AJ CASSIDY Staff Writer

2010 was a year of anticipation in the music industry. With acts like Arcade Fire, Weezer, Spoon and CeeLo Green dropping new releases, it was expected to be a year unrivaled by any in recent memory.

But while this year produced some of the best music of the decade, the artists who produced it were a bit unexpected. New acts like Local Natives, Sleigh Bells and Best Coast often over-shadowed some of the industry’s most established acts.

Strong sophomore efforts were also a common occurrence, such as Vampire Weekend returning to form with “Contra.” 2010 also saw the return of veteran acts absent for years, like Pavement, Guided by Voices and Superchunk.

Despite the strength of the albums above, none of them made the Northern Iowan’s top five for the year. Before the top five countdown, it would be a mistake not to award some honorable mentions for this year’s albums that just missed the final cut.

The following 10 albums were on our honorable mention list: Arcade Fire with “The Suburbs,” Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti with “Before Today,” Best Coast with “Crazy for You,” The Black Keys with “Brothers,” Deerhunter with “Halcyon Digest,” Local Natives with “Gorilla Manor,” Sleigh Bells with “Treats,” Tokyo Police Club with “Champ,” Vampire Weekend with “Contra” and Wavves with “King of the Beach.”

News editor Leah Jeffries’ choice for the year was “Brother,” by The Scene Aesthetic.

“They just sing what they mean, and I like the simplicity of it,” she said. “My favorite track is ‘Never Gonna Let This Go.’” And now for the top five albums of 2010. Ultimately, these were the five albums with the most allure — albums that demand repeated listening. The mark of a great album is whether it stands up over time, and these five certainly will.

5. The Tallest Man on Earth – “The Wild Hunt” The second album from The Tallest Man on Earth is a followup to the heralded “Shallow Grave.”

The artist’s vocal resemblance to Bob Dylan is uncanny, but the style is different. Forgoing the big band sound, The Tallest Man on Earth uses his infectiously catchy finger-picking guitar to create songs that echo America’s folk traditions. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this is that The Tallest Man on Earth is Swedish and speaks English as a second language. Look for more from him in the future.

4. LCD Soundsystem – “This is Happening” This album is more of the same from LCD Soundsystem, and that’s not a bad thing. From the moment the album starts with “Dance Yrself Clean,” the beats just keep on building. It’s an easy comparison to ‘80s greats Tears for Fears, yet LCD Soundsystem makes the sound his own. He cleverly weaves elements of each song on the album into another, creating a release that does not rely on the power of one track. When he sings, “maybe we don’t do hits,” he is

merely being modest. These are old tricks for LCD Soundsystem, and the strength of the album speaks to his stellar body of work.

3. Kanye West – “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” This album is a near consensus choice for many music websites as a top 10 album. Through the media and through his music, West never fails to entertain. The NI’s features editor, Cassie Tegeler, gave the following review for West’s album: “In his fifth and most powerful album yet, Kanye West brings hip-hop to a whole new level in ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’

“With every verse West speaks the truth about his twisted life in intelligent, humorous ways. The album features the most impressive line-up of featured artists than any album in recent history. West recruited stars like Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Fergie, John Legend, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Raekwon and more to join him in this beautifullycrafted album. With catchy hits like ‘Power,’ ‘Monster,’ ‘Runaway’ and ‘All of the Lights,’ this album is sure to please any lover (or hater) of West.”

2. The Walkmen – “Lisbon” The guys from New York do it again in a follow-up to the successful “You and Me” of 2008. Often underrated, this is the band’s fifth original album. Their sound is evocative of a coming-of-age, an echo of an identity crisis.

The album deals with growing up and leaving behind the toxic decisions and relationships of the past, as in “Stranded” when Hamilton Leithauser sings, “Whatever happened to my old friends / drunk and lonely ‘til the end / how I love them all, as the days slip by / and they’re all following my lead.” The album ventures from tumultuous adolescence to mature reflection in the span of eleven tracks. In the first track, “Juveniles,” the band declares, “You’re one of us / or one of them”, but manages to $2 gain perspective by the 10th track, “While I Shovel the Snow,” by saying, “There’s no life / like the slow life.”

The album pays homage to the music of the ‘60s and ‘70s, with surf sound infused in “Angela Surf City” and “Woe is Me.” At the end of “Lisbon,” the only thing left to worry about is whether the band has enough strife left in them for another album.

1. The National – “High Violet” Label-mates of The Walkmen on Fat Possum Records, The National’s third effort is quite possibly their best, which is no knock on 2005’s “Alligator” or “Boxer.” The National

LANE CHRISTIANSEN/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT Campus

Kanye West’s newest album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” took third in the Northern Iowan’s choices for top albums of 2010.

use minimalistic sound and brooding vocals to paint a scene that is at times depressing, emboldening, sad and hopeful.

The inner conflict of whether the speaker is a bad person or a victim is a theme throughout the album.

Beginning with “Terrible Love,” it seems the latter is true, as Matt Berninger declares, “It’s a terrible love and I’ll walk away smiling.” The follow-up track “Sorrow” declares that sorrow is “in my honey / it’s in my milk.” As if to juxtapose the smile from the first track, they sing, “I don’t wanna get over you.” The somber sound of the album calls to mind Joy Division’s successful and tragic

run in the 1980s. But even though themes of tragedy and regret fill the album, it is clear they are here to stay.

In “Runaway,” Berninger gives the self-assurance, “No I won’t be no runaway / ‘cuz I won’t run.” The album is at once low-key and powerful, with subdued instrumentation that is sure to stick in your head and have you humming or singing along for weeks after your first listen.

Give us your thoughts on best album of the year Visit our Facebook page or leave a comment on our website:

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SISSY’S CIRCUS continued from page 5

installment of Sissy’s Circus, so there’s kind of a storyline that keeps going through.

And part of it is that Sissy was a misfit. She didn’t get along with everybody. She didn’t like to do what other people liked to do, so she went off on her own and found a bunch of people who were the same and created this elaborate show.”

Sissy’s Circus isn’t your typical theatre show and is intended for ages 17 and older.

“There’s a lot of audience participation,” Allen said.

“We talk to the audience and we bring some of the audience members up on stage.”

And to ensure the audience that Sissy’s Circus is all about having a good time, the company is planning on having a bar crawl before Saturday’s performance.

“Saturday we’re doing a late show, and the purpose of the late show is because we would like to have a Sissy-

FILM continued from page 5

For more information or to register

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holiday at the mall

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aren’t a couple in real life.

Gyllenhaal plays the doeeyed sex god with ease and style, and Hathaway’s sexy artist (with Parkinson’s) is extremely real – gone are the days of “Princess Diaries” for her. The pair’s comedic timing is flawless, and they make even the most embarrassing moments hilarious.

The leads are not the only thing this movie has going for it, acting wise. Hank Azaria (“Night at the Museum 2”) playing a sex-crazy doctor, Oliver Platt (“2012”) playing the affable drug-rep partner and Josh Gad (“The Rocker”) as Jamie’s less attractive yet filthy rich brother fill out the cast dramatically and espe-

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sponsored barcrawl down Main Street beforehand because we want people to be free … we want people to be freaks with us and shout and holler and participate. We don’t want them to just sit and watch beecause it’s more fun when everyone’s having a good time,” Neill said.

This year Sissy’s Circus has students from 10 to 12 different majors, ranging from theatre to philosophy to biology, involved in the production. The students are doing it all for the fun of it.

“This is all volunteer,” Allen said. “Everybody is doing it on their own time.

Nobody gets paid for it. It’s a benefit show. We don’t take any money in ourselves; we just like performing so much that we want to do (it) but we’ll give the money away to an organization.”

All proceeds will go to House of Hope, a local shelter for battered women and children. The price of the show is $10.

cially humorously.

With superb talent (in both looks and acting) to work with, director Edward Zwick creates a beautiful movie. The script is sometimes cliché and predictable, but the acting and direction make you forget it. The R rating, stemming from the nudity (and there’s a bunch) and language mostly, is not undeserved, but the film is in no way overdone or distasteful.

Although this is not the best movie ever written, the acting talent by far surpasses expectations, making the movie both enjoyable and meaningful. If you are looking for a relaxing and good movie to see to de-stress in time for finals, “Love and Other Drugs” is a good option.

FEATURES

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Kari Braumann

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The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

Opinion

Friday, December 10, 2010

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’ Holiday wish list T from the editorial staff

e establish this Constitution in order to...

ADAM HASELHUHN adamh@uni.edu

In years past, my fellow columnist Trevor Boeckmann and I haven’t always seen eye to eye. In 2009 we campaigned against each other for Northern Iowa Student Government President. We battled it out and had our fair share of debates during NISG Senate meetings when we both served as senators.

We didn’t agree that often, so when we do, it’s a big deal.

Especially when we agree about anything relating to NISG. This is one of those times.

For starters, NISG should get rid of the petitions with signature requirements to run for a senate spot in the elections. It seems logical to have candidates for president and vice president get signatures to be on the ballot to prove their legitimacy and dedication to wanting to rep-

resent the 13,000 students at the University of Northern Iowa. But for senate, when you consider that less than half of the senate seats even generate a candidate in the elections, it makes absolutely no sense. Most of the senate gets appointed by the speaker and are never elected to begin with. The process to run has to be easier, otherwise no one is going to do it.

“

...if NISG wants to be taken seriously by the students, faculty, staff and administrators at UNI, they need to remember what they are elected (or appointed) to do -- serve the students.

The NISG senate is currently ineffective, and overand under-representative of certain campus groups.

Students have three senators representing each one of them based on where they

live, the college they are in and as part of the university at large. NISG should consider shrinking the size of the senate if it wants to be as effective as it can truly be.

The majority of the 30 or so senate seats are generally left unfilled after the election and when someone does run for a spot, they usually never have any competition. More often than not, students who vote don’t even have a candidate on the ballot to vote for and if they do, there is only one, leaving no other choice.

The senate should be more manageable in size and more representative of the student body as a whole. This would allow it to be more dynamic and capable of addressing student issues and concerns. This would also create a more competitive election cycle, generating interest in NISG and creating a positive image for the organization as a whole.

Finally, if NISG wants to be taken seriously by the See NISG, page 11

Only on The Violence Network

I rarely watch MTV or MTV2 and I have previously shared my thoughts on Jersey Shore. But the other day I was flipping channels and a show on MTV2 caught my eye called Bully Beatdown.

Minus the hokey cut scenes, corny host and allaround MTV vibe, this is one of the best concepts ANTHONY for a television show that I MITCHELL ayomitch@uni.edu have seen in an incredibly long time. This gave me an idea. Granted, I have had some pretty screwy ideas, such as electric shock steering wheels, government agencies combating snow terrorism and firing Brad Childress (oh wait, that was a good idea), but this is one of the best ideas I’ve had in a long time.

I present to you, the reading audience: The Violence Network. A cable channel dedicated to controlled violence programming resolving everyday issues. Now I understand that this sounds pretty bold and borderline insane, but allow me to present my case. Violence never solves anything. We have been told this countless times and we see it in action. However, controlled violence involving third parties is a whole different story. Bullying is an issue that has been unsuccessfully combatted for centuries. Celebrity campaigns like the recent NOH8 movement are common. Yet it still persists.

You want to combat bullying or being taken advantage of in any way? TV is our answer. People will tune in to see less-thandesirable individuals get what they deserve.

Now you may be thinking, “Anthony, how can you devote 24 hours of controlled violent pro-

gramming to a single channel?” Well… you got me there; I don’t have it planned out that far. But here is a start on potential programming.

Number one, we get a sponsorship from Ultimate Fighting Championship (as King of the Cage is signed with Bully Beatdown). Once Bully Beatdown’s season is finished, we secure the rights. Then, instead of rules per round to give the bully some sort of advantage, he goes in the octagon as if it is any other fight. You survive three rounds of UFC rules, you win $10 million. It has to be that high for anyone to take part.

Next up, Washington Dunk Tank. Not necessarily violence, more comic relief. Former politicians sit in a dunk tank filled with a different disgusting liquid per show (excrement, used mop bucket water, etc.). Frustrated voters have the opportunity to dunk them. Each dunk wins $1,000 for charity. Finally, once we hit the late night hours, I don’t have a name for the show, but we’ll just strap sexual assaulters and child molesters to a pole and, well, I’ll just go ahead and stop there.

As insane as this whole scenario is, if we don’t stand up to the half-witted antagonists of this world and punch them in the mouth, we allow them to continue exploitation. Every person on this rock is accountable to us for what they do in their daily lives.

Bullies deserve broken bones, self-interested morons deserve humiliation and serious violators deserve to be left barely alive. In a perfect world, not one person should feel that they can get away with something they know is wrong.

We might as well tune in weekly and see them get what they deserve. See you at the Emmys.

I kid.

he snow is beginning to fall, students who have never set foot in the library are staying until the 2 a.m. closing time and professors are starting to realize that there won’t be a “next week” to cover the material. All of this can only mean one thing: FINALS WEEK. For any of you that have been living under a rock, yes, finals week will begin on Monday and it’s time to get studying. But as this is the last edition of the Northern Iowan until next semester, we’ll end on a lighter note instead of drilling studying tips into your head.

We here at the NI have had a great semester thanks to the help of our writers and photographers as well as the support from our readers. But like everyone else out there, we have a few requests for next year to make our spring semester even better. So here it is, the NI editorial staff ’s holiday wish list.

John: My wish is that the student body takes the February Northern Iowa Student Government elections seriously and that they elect only the best candidates to office. Not many students voted in the fall special elections, and one senator was elected with only three votes. I wish that this is not the case in the February elections and that there is some tough competition for the presidency and senate seats.

Leah: I wish that President Benjamin Allen’s upcoming surgery goes as smoothly as possible and that his recovery is quick and painless. It is often easy to forget just how big of a job he has, but we want him to know how much we appreciate him. Along with that, I would like to thank Provost Gloria Gibson for all of her hard work and wish that as she covers President Allen’s responsibilities during his recover, she is presented with few, if any, difficult obstacles. We wish them both a happy and healthy holiday season.

Cassie: I wish that all students would take group projects seriously. If you’re assigned a group project, please contribute to the group. Don’t slack off just because you think your group members will do the project for you. If you contribute, your group members will appreciate it and your grade will improve.

Anna: I wish for a snow day and for meticulously clean sidewalks next semester!

Brad: I wish for another Sweet Sixteen run from our men’s basketball team. Go Panthers!

Kari: I hear complaints from time to time by word of mouth about the NI. By all means, email us at northern-iowan@uni. edu to let us know how we can improve! Some things we can’t change (like if your beef is “Not enough Flirts ads”), but we are continuously looking for ways to increase the quality of our paper.

So that’s our holiday wish list. Now don’t get too distracted by our wish list; make one of your own or get back to studying; whatever you find most productive. The snow is beginning to cover the ground and the library is becoming more packed than an NCAA Sweet Sixteen game, so here at the Northern Iowan we wish everyone at UNI a happy holiday season!

This editorial reflects the position of the Northern Iowan’s editorial staff: John Anderson, Leah Jeffries, Brad Eilers, Cassie Tegeler, Anna Schreck and Kari Braumann.

All other articles and illustrations represent the views of their authors.

A free mattress NICK KROB nickkrob@ gmail.com

I have never felt so guilty lying in bed. Despite going to bed at 4 a.m., I could not sleep.

And as I write this column, there is no other topic I can let myself talk about. Despite the multitude of things I wish to discuss, it seems there is only one thing worth discussing. And it all came from my

mom getting rid of her guest bedroom mattress.

After visiting a furniture store’s liquidation sale in Nebraska, my parents decided it was time to get rid of the old, albeit nice, queen-sized mattress being used in their guest bedroom. Thinking nothing of it, my mom placed the old mattress for free on Craigslist in the city in which they live. Within one day, she had 16 different emails from people wanting to pick it up.

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MATTRESS continued from page 10

Not one of them asked what condition the mattress was in.

Normally, such a response would be great news. Yet I find it completely disheartening. I believe it goes without saying that mattresses are not something commonly reused.

Much like undergarments and personal hygiene products, mattresses are something people don’t desire to use after someone has owned them for most their life. They are on the pricey side, sure, but by no means are they an exorbitant expense. The fact that 16 different people, within a day, were desperately hoping to receive an old mattress, of which they had no clue the condition, speaks volumes for the current social condition.

Take, for instance, the first inquiry for the mattress: a charity worker looking for things to provide a father with three daughters who recently moved to Iowa from Texas with nothing after the death of his wife. Upon replying to the inquiry, the worker said it would take her a while to come pick it up, considering she must go find a salvage store that had underwear for the three little girls who had none.

And all this time I am sitting in my heated apartment complaining about paying through the roof for terrible Mediacom DVR service?

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I come home from work or school every day, throw my coat in the closet with 5 others, walk to my queen sized bed to nap and get pissed when my cats won’t leave me room to spread out? I wake up and play Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Black Ops on a 50 inch TV and complain that the Mediacom internet provider is terrible? Last night, as I tried to sleep, I needed a reality check.

The world suffers. And not just the kids in Africa who you can supposedly save for as little as pennies a day. In our country, in our state, in our town, in our community; people are suffering. It is a useless cause, I feel, to ever hope this will change. For it is the reality of nature I fear.

It sickens me to think of my fortune and realize my self-pity. I complain about being poor, yet I have a lifestyle millions would kill for.

And I don’t live large. I eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I just assume such meager living is the norm.

College kids claim how rough we have it. Yet any kid who spends a dime on the Hill is not suffering, for such an expense would be unfathomable for a family looking to survive through donated mattresses and undergarments.

Millions suffer and many of them always will. I am not suffering and probably never will. Why am I so fortunate?

Is it because I have parents

that work so hard to provide for me that I am forever indebted to them? Is it luck?

Is it some sort of genetic superiority? While I would like to accredit my good fortune to the work ethic of my family, I would be naive to do so. It is luck. While many suffer due to apathy and not working hard, the others suffer from bad luck.

How can I live a carefree life knowing some people working ten times harder than I ever will will always be living just to scrape by? How can I sleep on such a comfortable bed, knowing a family of four, up until last week, didn’t even have a bed? And millions more still don’t, and may never?

It’s a sad existence we all live, and I regret to realize it may never change. I could urge everyone to donate, but it won’t happen. I could give up all my belongings to those in need, but that won’t happen.

They would then simply be living my life; a life of material belongings and eternal guilt.

I’ll give my change to beggars and donate what I can to charity, but I will always know in the back of my head that I am too lucky. Somewhere, at all times, families and individuals are experiencing the miseries of poverty as I struggle to find money for CD’s and my family redecorates their guest bedroom. It will always stay with me.

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NISG continued from page 10

students, faculty, staff and utive, legislative and judicial administrators at UNI, they branches, working together need to remember what they to make the lives of other are elected (or appointed) to students better. do – serve the students. Part Don’t waste your time of that is communicating to arguing over who has the the entire campus community. power to remove the other What are the goals of NISG from office. Spend some time for this year? What are they on issues that matter to studoing to further those goals? dents. Don’t know of any?

NISG has an executive Get out and talk to the people branch to you are supdo just that. posed to repThey must Don’t waste your time resent. You work with have a wonthe senators arguing over who has derful opporto outline the power to remove tunity to goals and the other from office. help others; offer the suptake advanport a young Spend some time on tage of it senate needs issues that matter to and actively in commu- students. pursue new nicating its ideas and efforts to the initiatives student body. that will only While the branches are three make UNI a better place. separate groups, there must It’s easy to criticize if you be a level of respect and coop- are an outsider looking in, eration between their mem- but I spent the majority of bers to allow for the organi- my UNI career as an NISG zation to function well and to insider. I know how it works. reach its full potential. NISG I can accept some responsineeds some sort of training bility for not getting these for its new members and they things accomplished while I need someone to show them was involved, but now it is up that what they are doing is to the current leaders of our important. student body to work for us.

All this being said, NISG All of the members of NISG is important and should be need to take a look at the taken very seriously, and all Constitution they have been of its members should act working on the past couple of professionally. But please weeks and read the beginning. don’t pretend to be something After that, it’s time to roll up that you are not. This isn’t their sleeves and get to work. ancient Athens where “the power lies in the Senate.” You are a group of students: exec-

“

What do you think? What is the purpose of student

government? What would you like to see NISG doing for you? Join in the conversation at our website:

northern-iowan.org

The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

Sports

Friday, December 10, 2010

Three Panthers earn AVCA AllRegion Honors

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Cold shooting dooms the Panthers UNI men fall to Iowa 51-39 in Iowa City

NI NEWS SERVICE

The University of Northern Iowa’s Ellie Blankenship, Michelle Burow and Bre Payton were all named to the American Volleyball Coaches AllCentral Region Team, the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association announced Tuesday.

Payton was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and earned a spot on the MVC AllTournament team. The junior setter notched six tripledoubles in 2010, including a string of four matches with a triple-double. Payton dished out 11.14 assists per set to go along with 2.79 digs per set and 1.94 kills per set. Payton helped the Panthers average 15.24 kills per set, ranking them first in the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament. This is the second time Payton as been named to the all-region team.

Blankenship led the Panther defense with 5.53 digs per set in 2010. She became just the eighth player in NCAA Division I history to record over 2,500 digs and finished her career with 2,656 digs. Blankenship was a first-team all-conference selection and was named MVC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Blankenship holds UNI records for career digs, digs per set and digs per set in a season while also holding the MVC record for career digs. This is the second regional honor for Blankenship as she earned honorable mention honors in 2009.

Burow led the Panther attack, averaging a teambest 3.22 kills per set while hitting at a .352 efficiency.

Burow registered doubledigit kills in 20 matches, posting a career-high 23 kills twice. Burow was named a first-team all-conference selection while also being named to all-tournament teams at the Mortar Board Premier Tournament, Diet Coke Classic and Kansas Invitational. This marks the first time Burow has earned AVCA All-Region honors.

UNI finished the season with a 30-3 record, including a perfect 18-0 mark in MVC play.

TIM GETTING/Northern Iowan

UNI shot a season-low 27.3 percent from the field in Tuesday night’s 51-39 defeat at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Panthers shot just 20 percent from three-point range.

By BRAD EILERS

Sports Editor

The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team shot a season-low 27.3 percent from the field and suffered a 51-39 loss to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night. Since CarverHawkeye Arena opened in 1983, the Panthers are just 1-22 in Iowa City.

“I think we disrupted their rhythm enough,” said Iowa

head coach Fran McCaffery.

“We kept going down and getting stops. Normally, a Northern Iowa team is going to erase a seven-point lead in four possessions.”

Neither team shot the ball well, with the Hawkeyes (5-4) shooting 40 percent from the field for the game, including just 28 percent shooting in the first half of play. The difference in the game was Iowa’s rebounding as well as their ability to get to the free throw line.

Ryan’s Rants

DJKaput

“Iowa played a bit better in a couple of key areas and deserved to win tonight because of it,” said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson.

“They rebounded the ball well. They got to the free throw line. Those couple of things proved to be the difference in the game.

“My guess is, if we rebounded better, it would’ve been an interesting ballgame.”

The Hawkeyes spent most of the game alternating

defenses, trying to confuse the Panthers offensively.

Iowa spent a lot of the game in a zone defense, something that UNI has struggled mightily against this year.

The Panthers lost their season opener at Syracuse University after scoring only 46 points against one of the most notorious 2-3 zone defenses in all of college basketball. However, the Panthers struggled to

By RYAN FRIEDERICH

Oh, wait. Iowa’s poster child wide receiver might be spending the night of Dec. 28 in prison, not on the football field. The same guy who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated last year and was going to be selected in this year’s National Football League Draft?

Yes, it’s true. DJK, as he is referred to by Hawkeye fans, was busted for possession of marijuana, cocaine, and prescription drugs Tuesday night. This news broke on the same night that our University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball lost at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, so my negative feelings towards the Hawkeyes are a little magnified this week.

I am a senior here at UNI, and I have spent the past

Sports Columnist

Courtesy Photo/MCT CAMPUS

Iowa receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (15) celebrates with his teammates during the 2009 Outback Bowl. DJK was suspended by the Hawkeyes after he was arrested on drug charges Tuesday night.

Could the University of Iowa’s football season have gotten any worse this year?

After capping a 7-5 season with a loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Hawkeyes painfully accepted an invitation to the Insight Bowl in Arizona against a much better 10-2 Missouri Tiger team.

These Tigers are basically the Northwestern Wildcats, only more talented and athletic. The Hawkeyes are going to be chasing guys all over the field the whole night. Everything should be all right though, because the offense will just have to rely on Iowa’s all-time leading receiver Derrell JohnsonKoulianos to keep them in the game.

See BASKETBALL, page 13

See RANT, page 14

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PAGE 13

Panthers hold on for a 73-64 victory over South Dakota

JESSICA SNOOK/Northern Iowan

UNI defeated the South Dakota Coyotes 73-64 Tuesday night. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 5-3 on the year.

The University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball team improved to 5-3 on the season with a 73-64 win over the University of South Dakota Tuesday night in the McLeod Center.

Jacqui Kalin led the Panthers with 19 points, and Lizzie Boeck notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds along with five assists. K.K. Armstrong also finished with 10 points for the Panthers.

Amber Hegge shot 12-of18 from the floor to lead South Dakota (5-5) with 32 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers scored 22 points off USD’s 15 turnovers, while committing just eight turnovers in the contest.

Leading 10-8, UNI scored seven straight points

to build a 17-8 advantage.

South Dakota was able to pull within five, 19-14, but a three from Katelin Oney and a lay-up from Kalin gave the Panthers their first doubledigit lead, 24-14 with 5:08 left in the first half.

UNI would lead by as many as 13 points in the first half before taking a 32-24 lead into the break.

South Dakota opened the second half on a 6-1 run, cutting the Panther lead to 33-30 with 18:23 to play.

Boeck and Oney hit jumpers on consecutive trips, and Erin Brocka drained a three to return the Panther lead to double digits, 40-30 at 16:16.

South Dakota chipped away at the Panther lead, and a Hegge jumper brought the score to 46-40 with 10:39 on the clock. Kalin hit a three on the Pathers’ next trip down the floor, stretching

UNI’s lead back to nine.

On UNI’s next trip, Boeck capitalized on an offensive rebound by Mercedees Morgan to return the Panther lead to double digits, 51-40 at 9:30.

The UNI advantage stayed between eight and 11 points until Tempestt Wilson made a lay-up with 7:32 remaining that narrowed the gap to 55-49.

The teams traded baskets, and Hegge hit a three with 5:42 on the clock that made it a one-possession game, 57-54.

Rachel Madrigal hit a three on the Panthers’ next possession, and after coming up with a defensive stop, Boeck knocked down a jumper to extend the lead to 62-54 with 4:03 on the clock.

A Hegge lay-up made it a six-point game, but

Ahelegbe and Koch each tallied 11 points to lead the Panthers offensively. Koch also collected nine rebounds to lead the team in that category.

UNI shot just 15-of-55 (27.3 percent) from the floor, including an abysmal 5-of-28 (17.9 percent) in the second half. UNI finished just 6-of30 (20 percent) from three-

point range and 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Panthers were outrebounded 40-37.

The Panthers return to action on Saturday night when they host Morehead State University in the McLeod Center.

The Eagles (6-3) are from the Ohio Valley Conference and feature one of the nation’s

best post players in 6’8” Kenneth Faried, who is averaging 18.4 points per game to go along with 14.3 rebounds per game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Central time.

Be sure to pick up the Jan. 14 issue of the Northern Iowan to get a Christmas break recap of UNI men’s basketball.

NI NEWS SERVICE

TIM GETTING/Northern Iowan

The Panthers only managed to score 39 points against the Hawkeyes on Tuesday night. The last time the Panthers failed to score more than 40 points in a game was back in 2000 when UNI lost to Bradley University 80-39.

BASKETBALL continued from page 12

find the basket just as much against the Hawkeyes, a team that is known more for their run-and-gun offense than their defense, on Tuesday night as they did against the Orange to start the season.

“I think the credit goes to Iowa’s defense,” said Jacobson. “I thought Fran (McCaffery) did a good job of changing defenses.”

Iowa built an early lead on the Panthers, going up by as many as 10 points at 16-6. However, the Panthers would respond with an 11-0 run to take a 17-16 lead off a Kwadzo Ahelegbe jump shot with 4:51 remaining in the first half. Each team traded buckets to finish out the half with Lucas O’Rear scoring to put the Panthers up 23-22

at half time. UNI had been 4-0 in games it led at the half.

The Hawkeyes came out of the locker room and scored two quick baskets to take the lead for good at 26-23 with 17:48 remaining in the game. Anthony James cut the deficit to one at 26-25 off a lay-up, but Iowa responded with an 8-0 run to go up by nine at 34-25 with 13:47 remaining. After the teams exchanged threepointers, Jake Koch hit backto-back threes to cut the Iowa lead to three at 37-34 with 11:26 remaining.

Iowa would outscore the Panthers 14-5 down the stretch to secure a 51-39 victory. The last time the Panthers (4-3) failed to score over 40 points in a game was back in 2000 when UNI lost to Bradley University 80-39.

See VICTORY, page 14

PAGE 14

SPORTS

VICTORY continued from page 13

Armstrong answered with a three 25 seconds later to bring the score to 65-56 with 2:16 left.

South Dakota was able to pull within six in the final minute, but the Panthers were 8-of-10 from the freethrow line in the final 48 seconds to seal the win.

UNI shot 24-of-64 (37.5 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from three-point range. The Panthers were 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the free-throw line.

UNI held a 41-34 rebounding advantage, and UNI turned 15 offensive rebounds into 22 secondchance points.

USD, meanwhile, was held to

two second-chance points on six offensive rebounds.

South Dakota shot 24-of-55 (43.6 percent) from the floor, including 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.

The Coyotes were 11-of14 (78.6 percent) from the free-throw line.

UNI’s eight rebounds match the season-low set by the Panthers on Thursday against Northern Illinois University.

The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they host South Dakota State University at 3 p.m. in the McLeod Center.

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JESSICA SNOOK/Northern Iowan

Senior center Lizzie Boeck recorded a double-double against the Coyotes Tuesday night. Boeck scored 16 points while collecting a team-high 12 rebounds.

Courtesy Photo/MCT CAMPUS

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi will need to find a new favorite target after Derrell Johnson-Koulianos’ suspension.

RANT continued from page 12

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four years working fairly hard with the aspirations of someday making a whopping $30,000 a year teaching screaming children for 40 hours per week. I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that this football senior had the chance to make millions of dollars playing a game and he tossed it out the window just to get a fix.

Not only did DJK develop a bad reputation for himself, but he just gave the campus in Iowa City a big ol’ black eye. He let down Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who worked hard for four years and wanted to cap off his senior year with a bowl win. He let down Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, who recruited him to represent Iowa’s

rich football tradition with dignity and class. Most importantly, he let down every little kid who walked into Kinnick Stadium with the number 15 proudly displayed on their chest and back.

The unfortunate news that developed surrounding DJK is terribly disappointing, but hopefully it will have an impact on his life in a positive way.

The Hawkeyes are going to miss their deep threat later this December, but there is no doubt in my mind that the other receivers will pick up the slack and lead the Hawkeyes to an Insight Bowl victory.

How refreshing is it for us here in Cedar Falls to look at our framed Sports Illustrated cover and see a true role model like Ali Farokhmanesh? Good luck with finals, and go Panthers!

The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

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The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892

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PAGE 16

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