Despite crime rates that have fallen for decades, the United States still imprisons far more of its population than any other country in the world. COVID-19 has forced Americans to take a closer look at our society — including the millions behind bars in jails and prisons where infections are hard to contain. While some county jails have released thousands of detainees to slow coronavirus’ spread, prisons have been reluctant to follow.
Now 86 and living on a remote green patch of Northern Iowa countryside, famed anti-racist and University of Northern Iowa alumna Jane Elliott may seem an unlikely candidate for viral videos and social media clout.
Marvel’s first Latinx writer is on a mission to spread joy and acceptance through her work. A campus visit this spring was rescheduled due to COVID-19, but in this interview with Inside UNI — shared now in honor of Pride Month — she shares her inspiring message and updates on her latest projects.
UNI Associate Professor of Literacy and Education Shuaib Meacham helps teach future educators how to handle race in the classroom. He also leads a local hip hop literacy program to help connect youth to their love of language, and is helping launch a new project aimed at showcasing Iowa’s diversity. Here, he discusses his work and offers advice for using this unprecedented moment to create lasting change.
As one of the world’s most recognizable brands, Coca-Cola routinely works with top-tier design firms. Even against that backdrop, when its North American division recently teamed up with UNI’s Advanced Design Studio II class to create a new in-store fixture, merchandising directors were left impressed.
Amid protests across the country and world last week calling for racial justice, University of Northern Iowa Athletic Director David Harris shared some of his personal thoughts and life experiences in a conversation with Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations Leslie Prideaux.
Widespread protests over the death of George Floyd swept the nation for a second week, with tens of thousands of mostly peaceful protestors vowing that his death at the hands of Minneapolis police would at last spark change.
The protests that have occurred in hundreds of cities, including in the Cedar Valley, have placed a powerful spotlight on racist practices endemic in American society. The message was clear: institutions, including college campuses, must respond.
