The purpose of the Issues pages in this paper is to allow for some insight for students that will make them think about what is going on around them.

There is too much activity within the NIU/DeKalb community for one person to keep track of it all, so the students running The Northern Star are trying to lend a hand.

We attempt to keep the public informed with articles about the community, and the Issues pages supplement the rest of the paper with editorials, columns, letters, guest opinions and guest columns.

The editorials give readers something to think about that they might not have considered in an issue or sometimes for giving a group or individual a pat on the back.

Editorials are decided on by the editorial board in conferences and in no way reflect the opinions of any other Star employee.

This semester, the editorial board has expanded to alleviate some of the current responsibilities the board has to better use their abilities for other aspects of the paper. The board consists of Beth Behland, editor-in-chief, Greg Rivara, managing editor, Bill Schwingel, editorial editor, and Mark McGowan, campus editor.

Five Star columnists appear once a week to give their opinion of what is going on around campus and those far-off regions outside of DeKalb. Their opinions are exactly that, their opinions and they do not speak for any other employee or for the paper.

To complement the columns and editorials, cartoonists try to depict an accurate picture of what is being said. Column cartoons always try to reflect what is being said by the columnist. Editorial cartoons usually try to capture what one of the editorials is saying, and sometimes concern a more general theme about world/nation/DeKalb issues.

The letters page is the forum for students, faculty and DeKalb residents. Any gripe, complement or idea that someone wants to get off his or her chest can be read on this page.

There are some guidelines that need to be followed before we can print a letter. The letter can be no more than 500 words, must include name, year or title, major and a phone number to verify a letter has been written by the person who’s name is on it. No letters will be printed without a name.

Also on the letters page will be occasional guest columns and opinions. We receive syndicated columns from the Washington Post and The Boston Glove which appear weekly on the letters page.

Health Enhancement Services and Students’ Legal Assistance also submit columns to the paper which will appear about once every two weeks. These columns offer advice to students on keeping healthy and protecting their rights.

The issues pages are a service for our readers to give some different aspects of issues from the editorial board, columnists and other readers.

This is the most important aspect of these pages, serving the reader, and if the readers don’t use them by writing letters or ignoring the columns while admiring the cartoons, these pages are nothing but a waste.

Freedom of speech cannot afford to be dumped in the garbage can. Use these pages.