NIU’s administration is fighting an uphill battle in trying to get students to stay in DeKalb. In the losing process, NIU is taking a bad rap.

The administration will keep losing until student groups start practicing what they preach and find the time to help themselves.

Simply put, the student population is divided into so many different cliques with bad attitudes that students don’t want to be with each other, let alone in DeKalb.

Saturday’s football game is the latest example, proving once again NIU has a long way to go before shedding its suitcase college reputation.

There wasn’t a more perfect day for anything. The Huskies were riding an 11 game winning streak at home. The team—to a delightful surprise—rolled over a nationaly ranked squad from the West Coast the previous week. And quarterback Stacey Robinson made headlines in every publication on the continent, including Sports Illustrated, for his mastery on the field.

But it all went for naught because of Saturday’s repulsive attendance. A mere 6,000 people saw NIU’s rejuvenated defense shut-out Arkansas State.

And, sadly, even the incredibly low attendance figures are deceptive because some spectators assuredly came out only to see the area high-school bands perform during the game.

But NIU can only do so much for the students. It is the students, with all their pompous arrogance, who bring down the university.

The attitude is pervasive. It soaks everyone from the first time they hit the DeKalb campus and the stench lingers until graduation.

Not all—but a vast majority of student groups could care less about others. The rest, one presumes, are too immature to live on their own and must run back to the security of Mom and friends left behind.

Take the Greeks. Nothing is more important than the house and the friends made there. That’s great. It’s no secret that if you’re Greek, non-Greeks are too stupid to realize the benefits of Greek Row. If you’re a god damn independent, you don’t want to hang out with snobbish-frat-types anyway.

The Greek vs. non-Greeks is the biggest problem on campus because of sheer numbers. Everyone deserves blame. Those who complain about it only prove the attitude is present and strong.

The black community is also inflicted with the attitude. Find a copy of the latest Lifeline—the newspaper published by the Center for Black Studies.

Although the newspaper is improving by leaps and bounds and is filling a void by offering the community news catered to a specific audience, it is painfully obvious deep rifts exist.

Check out the columns. One, besides being ripe for a libel lawsuit, rips apart each black fraternity. It makes such charges as drug abuse, sexual assault, degrading women and affiliations that sell-out the black community.

Other examples are thriving. One only has to open their eyes and ears.

So the next time people begin complaining about NIU, DeKalb and the affiliated activities, remember where the root of the problem actually lies.

All of the programming in the world doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if everyone is too good to go.