The Iowa Caucuses are still about six weeks away, but some University of Northern Iowa students will participate in the process today. UNI political science professor Phil Mauceri says they’re holding a mock caucus this afternoon in the student union. Mauceri says many of the students aren’t aware of what a caucus is, and he says they want to run through the process and procedures as a bit of a civic education. Mauceri, who is the interim head of the UNI Political Science Department, says this mock event will hopefully encourage students to take part in the real thing. He says since many of them are 18 and 19-year-olds, they may never have voted before and he says they’re sort of intimidated by the idea of the caucus. Students have historically not turned out in great numbers to vote, but Mauceri says that might be changing. He says they are pressed for time with classes and work, but he says they are interested — particularly after 9-11. He says there’s a sharp increase in the number of students who’re following the news. Mauceri says they’ll try to make today’s event as close to the real thing as possible. They’ve invited representatives from the local republican and democratic party. They’ll each talk about how they run their caucus. The event on the Cedar Falls campus runs from 1:30 to 3:30 this afternoon, while the real caucuses are January 19th.