The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

‘Would You Rather’ opens UISG campaign

Would you rather get a PAULA or have Netflix: That’s the new question a UISG campaign will ask aimed at reducing the number of tickets students receive.

The UISG Budgeting and Allocating Committee has recently launched a safety campaign called “Would You Rather,” which approximates the amount of money students could use if it was not otherwise being used to pay for negative consequences, such as a PAULA citation.

“Would You Rather is kind of equating the financial ramifications of breaking the law in Iowa City,” committee head Kolton Dahms, said. “For example we have PAULA — you could spend $330 on a PAULA or get 36 months of Netflix.”

UISG and the committee are spreading the word of this initiative to students across campus, officials said.

“We’re definitely going to focus on social media, and we also have fliers that are going to be passed out,” Dahms said.

This campaign is aimed particularly at students to promote weighing in on the benefits versus the consequences of their actions, especially underage drinking.

“People don’t necessarily think about these ramifications when they’re going out on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday night,” Dahms said. “But it’s our goal to make them aware.”

During Tuesday’s committee meetings, UISG members discussed other new ideas for the future, as well as a few initiatives that have recently been put into play.

On Monday, the community outreach committee launched its new campaign “Behind the Shield.” It collects video interviews with both university and Iowa City police officers, which can be viewed via social media such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

“We decided we wanted to do a web series showcasing who the officers are so that people aren’t so afraid of officers; so that people know who the people behind the shield are,” said Janet Lawler, communications specialist and co-chair of the campaign.

The goal of the web series is to promote safety in Iowa City and to help students see law enforcement in a more positive light, Lawler said.

“It’s kind of a less formal approach to teach students how to be safe,” said Jake Burger, student safety liaison and co-head of the campaign. “The goal of this is to not only forge those relationships but put a personality and a face to these officers that are helping them out and have a real conversation about the safety problems in Iowa City.”

An up-and-coming initiative the academic affairs committee will launch within the next couple of weeks is “Managing Midterms.”

“It doubles as an outreach event as well as a midterm motivator,” said Dexter Golinghorst, academic affairs committee head.

Similarly to last semester’s “Flipping into Finals” campaign, it will provide students with refreshments and stress counseling in the days leading up to midterms, Golinghorst said.

“We’re going to have healthy grab-and-go snacks and also different information available at our table from counseling services and different initiatives that are going on at UISG,” he said.

A “Managing Midterms” booth will be available to students March 4 and March 11 in the Hubbard Commons and the Main Library.

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