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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025
VOLUME 121, ISSUE 21
UNI Nursing students receive white coats
NORTHERN IOWAN/ELLIE MARMIE MORE ON PAGE TWO
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Students respond to UNI’s acquisition of The Quarters BAILEY KLINKHAMMER Executive Editor
CAMPUS LIFE
News Editor Jo Brahms speaks with Javaria White about the changes NISG has seen after DEI rollbacks. SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS Sports writer Michael Spahn covers the Panther’s tough loss to Drake last weekend. SEE PAGE 11
Since the Board of Regents approved UNI’s purchase of The Quarters, the university has acquired the facility and has begun transitioning The Quarters into a UNI facility. Students and non-students alike have noticed changes in the facility, expressing that although they’re still under a lease with The Quarters, they didn’t anticipate being under a lease with the university. UNI elementary education student and current Quarters resident Haley Mastin chose to live at The Quarters because she felt as though she had spent enough time living on campus. But, with UNI acquiring the facility, Mastin says that she’ll look for a new place to live in the fall. “One of my roommates and I were kind of iffy on if we wanted to renew our lease or not anyways, and now we want to get out of here, quite frankly, we don’t want to be here,” Mastin said. “I did my time on campus. I’m 21, I want to live my life, I want to be a college student.” Harlie Miller, also a UNI elementary education student,
echoed Mastin’s sentiments surrounding returning to The Quarters. “Most of the students that live here wanted to get off campus, and now we’re back on campus,” said Miller. “Along with that, non-college students can’t live here and two of my roommates aren’t college students. One had planned on living here next year but now she can’t and has to find a new place.” Both Mastin and Miller talked about immediate changes that they saw around the facilities, ranging from changes in amenities to how residents pay rent. “They’ve taken the tanning bed out,” said Mastin. “It’s more just disappointing than anything, I personally didn’t use it but for others who did, that could be upsetting.” Mastin also noted that the Apple computers residents could use to print had also been taken out, and she assumes that the university would replace them with mobile printers that are around campus. “It’s more of, these are amenities that our lease said we would have access to, and now that The Quarters is under the university, which current residents didn’t have a say in, we don’t have access to certain ameni-
NORTHERN IOWAN/MACI SWANSON
Changes are underway at The Quarters following UNI’s purchase of the facilities. Residents, however, are unhappy about some of changes they’re seeing.
ties that were originally in our lease,” Mastin said. Miller discussed that the resident portal The Quarters facility originally used had been replaced by a portal that was confusing and hard to use, especially for non-student residents of The Quarters, and that late fees on rent payments have “gone up to $60.” Mastin added to this, noting that non-student residents have had issues picking up packages. Sophie Serrano, a UNI stu-
dent and Quarters resident said that the acquisition of The Quarters makes residents feel more restricted. “I feel like this purchase is going to steer a lot of students away from living at The Quarters as many students come here to get a little more freedom,” said Serrano. “With the university purchasing I feel there’s going to be a lot less freedom.” Mastin says that according to See QUARTERS CHANGES, page 2