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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2024
VOLUME 120, ISSUE 23
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
How LGBTQ+ students navigate campus amidst slurs, state legislation and hate crimes MALLORY SCHMITZ News Editor
OPINION
Opinion Columnist Caden Shea weighs in on the court storming craze. SEE PAGE 5
Editor’s note: This article discusses violence against the LGBTQ+ community. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Maucker Union sits a hidden message board. In an alcove, a wooden bench and a nearby concrete pillar and brick wall have been decorated with over a decade of small graffiti messages. Sharpie markers have left notes like “Life’s too short, be happy,” “The world is YOURS,” “Class of ’14” and countless signatures from past and present students. A few weeks ago, sophomore student Sam, whose name has been changed for anonymity, added their own message to the bench. They wrote “Trans rights” in capital letters using a marker on the wooden back of the bench, intending to leave a positive message. See LGBTQ+ INCIDENTS, page 2
MALLORY SCHMITZ
CAMPUS LIFE
A behind the scenes look at how the Panther Pantry is run. SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Panthers secure the No. 4 seed in the MVC after a win over Southern Illinois SEE PAGE 11
Arestegui brings business full circle on the Hill TAYLOR NOHRENBERG Staff Writer
Anyone who knows Itzury “Zuri” Arestegui would say she’s a determined woman, but to her, she’s beginning a journey toward something she never thought was possible. College Hill is seeing that dream come to life with the addition of Zury’s Taco Bar, located in the old iconic Other Place (OP) building at 2214 College Street. The OP closed back on Dec. 1, 2021, and has since left the building vacant for two years. Zury and her restaurant team of around 20 plan to bring Latin American cuisine on Friday, March 8, to locals who not that long ago tasted meals from her food truck, “Zury’s Cuisine & Tacos,” that could be found most nights at the corner of Bani’s Liquor and Vape Shop. “I am very familiar with the community,” she said.
TAYLOR NOHRENBERG
Zury’s Taco Bar will be bringing Latin American cuisine to College Hill. Its owner, Itzury Arestegui, operated a food truck typically found at the corner of Bani’s Liquor and Vape Shop before establishing the new restaurant in the old Other Place building.
“Last year, I had an idea to get my own food truck, my own business… I started coming every weekend, and people liked it. People asked for location, location.” Arestegui has lived in the Cedar Valley for around 12 years and has formed deep
connections with her customers over the years from both the food truck and her seven years of experience in the food industry. The single mom of two from Michoacán, Mexico didn’t know much about owning a business that wasn’t
a food truck, just that she had the talent to provide her cooking to the community. “While I thought the food truck was a good idea, I didn’t imagine how many challenges there were with a food truck,” she said. Arestegui happened upon the building for lease almost by chance. “One day I was walking, I saw a person putting up the signs, and I thought ‘You know, it’s for rent,’ but I don’t have money for this adventure, just my food truck,” she said. With recipes infused with tastes from Guatemala, Peru and Columbia carried down from her family and a passion to provide a sense of home and community, she sought out the expertise and financial support from her business partners, Rafael Delgado, Yenifer Hernandez and Gerardo Delgado, to start her business journey.
See ZURY’S TACOS, page 3