/NORTHERNIOWAN
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
CEDAR FALLS, IA
@NORTHERNIOWAN
WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
CEDAR FALLS, IA
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2024
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 121, ISSUE 8
UNI Homecoming celebrates Panthers on Parade
Northern Iowan/JO BRAHMS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
CAMPUS LIFE
Campus Life editor Estelle Johnson discusses the recent TheatreUNI production of “Ordinary Days.” SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Michael Spahn highlights UNI men’s basketball managers. SEE PAGE 11
JO BRAHMS
News Editor
With homecoming just around the corner, students across campus may be wondering exactly what the theme “Panthers on Parade” means. Originally Panthers on Parade was a collaboration between UNI and Cedar Falls Tourism. The TC sculptures were designed by local artists to be placed around Cedar Falls. In March of 29=024, the Northern Iowan met with Jennifer Pickar, the tourism and cultural programs manager for Cedar Falls, she said “Panthers on Parade is really a community pride project. Cedar Falls Tourism is working with the University of Northern Iowa to bring … 26 new, six foot tall fiberglass TC statues that will be showcased around the community from May through Oct. of 2024.” Each statue is completely unique. Pickar explained that each mascot was created by local artists, saying “We have 20 local or area artists that are embellishing each of the TC mascots in a different way. Each mascot has a sponsor, so the artists have paired up with a sponsor to customize them, or to, you know, select a specific design. So
they’re all going to be very different, very colorful and fun, and they’ll be placed at the sponsor locations on the very first of May.” Pickar continued on to explain how the idea came about, “So, you know, our other large state universities in Iowa have done this. They have their mascots on display throughout their communities and we thought it was time to have that here in Cedar Falls. So the planning for this project, you know, to get it going, took a year. There’s a lot of pieces to it, but we’re really excited to see it come to be. We want TC to be showcased throughout the community. We just want Cedar Falls to, you know, step up a little bit and do a little more to show their pride for UNI. The university is super important to the community, and the community here in Cedar Falls is super important to UNI.” Pickar touched on the com mu nit y-wide effor t behind the project, emphasizing the importance of both the artists and the sponsors. “We have such great local artists in this community. I can’t wait for their work to be on display in such a fun way. There are UNI alumni that are participating. There are UNI students participating as artists. So it’s just
a really cool thing to see all of this come together. And, you know, this project wouldn’t be possible without our local sponsors. A lot of local businesses just jumped at the chance to be involved. We’ve got a great variety of businesses that came on board, and so I just really always want to thank them for helping us make this happen.” Rachel Heine, the artist behind two of the TC mascots and a 2024 UNI graduate, spoke about the process she went through to create the pieces she called “Aqua Cat,” made for the Falls Aquatic Center and “TC Moneybags,” made for UNITE Credit Union. “I just kind of keep my eye out for different little commissions they do around Cedar Falls, and so this came up, and I thought I’d be qualified, because I work in a variety of mediums. So from there, I just sent in some proposals, like of designs and stuff which weren’t like final but that was just so they could see who’s qualified. Then they paired me up with different businesses around Cedar Falls, and then from there, I worked with the business to come up with a different design for them.” See
UNI
HOMECOMING, page 3
News briefs Early Voting availble in Maucker Union Wednesday, Oct. 16 through Friday, Oct. 18 from 9am to 3pm Black Hawk county registered voters can vote early in Maucker Union. For more information, check out https://panthersvote.uni. edu UNI Department of Communication & Media to host annual Fast Forward Conference Friday, Oct. 18 will be the annual Fast Forward Media Workshop. This event is free to participants, with a meal coupon toward lunch provided. This annual event is sponsored by the UNI Department of Communication and Media, with the generous support of the Iowa Broadcasters Association Foundation. Registration is open now, online. Any questions can be forwarded to Eric Braley, eric.braley@uni.edu