Welcome back, Panthers! We hope your first few weeks of school here have gotten off to a great start! Each month we — the Northern Iowa Student Government — hope to update you on some of the initiatives we have been working on throughout the year.

One of the biggest events of the year will be the upcoming presidential election. NISG will be tabling in the Union to help students sign up through TurboVote. Keep an eye out for us! We will also be holding Voterpalooza on Oct. 10. There will be food, music, information from student organizations on each candidate, as well as an opportunity to register to vote!

From Oct. 24-28 there will be the “You Matter at UNI” week. This week focuses on mental health awareness, information, and reducing the stigma surrounding counseling. There will be different events every day.

Kicking off the week will be a lime green flag campaign at Lawther Field, followed by a Friend-to-Friend training with UNI counselors, and Kevin Hansen speaking with his program titled “Secret Regrets.” Lime green t-shirts and bracelets will be offered for donations throughout the week: every single dollar will go into a fund to help UNI students receive psychiatric services.

There are several large on-campus searches that are currently underway. The biggest search that has just begun is the UNI Presidential search, with Hunter Flesch serving as the student representative on this committee. The Vice President of Student Affairs search has also begun, and Avery Johnson will be helping select this new administrator.

Once the new President of UNI is selected the Vice President of Student Affairs selection will be made shortly after. Lastly, a search for a Director of the Center for Multicultural Education will be gearing up in the upcoming weeks. The hope is to have all of these positions filled by the end of the Fall semester.

These are some of the large projects that NISG will be focusing on this semester. Along with these initiatives, NISG continuously works to improve student life and help make UNI a welcoming and inclusive campus. We are striving to engage as many students as possible to ensure students are making the most out of their time here at UNI.

Finally, to any students who are reading this article: know that NISG is such a valuable resource to you. We will always be here to support you, guide you and help you with anything you might need. Take advantage of all the amazing opportunities UNI has to offer, and we hope you have a wonderful school year!

-Northern Iowa Student Government