Members of NIU’s Woman’s Alliance protested the DeKalb Nite Weekly newspaper Wednesday, as part of Earth Week.

About five Alliance members protested in the King Memorial Commons asking students to recycle the Nite Weekly rather than read it.

“We feel the DeKalb Nite Weekly is sexist. We encourage people not to read it in order to lessen women’s oppression,” said Alliance member Karen Van Fossan.

Messages printed on protesters’ signs included, “STOP SEXISM, RECYCLE THE DEKALB NITE WEEKLY” and “LOVING THE EARTH REQUIRES LOVING EACH OTHER, STOP SEXISM!”

Frank Trebusak, Nite Weekly publisher, said the protesters should look at the other side of the issue. “It is a good start for girls who want to go into modeling and it is an unpaid, voluntary position.”

NIU sophomore Christopher Heinrich said he feels the Nite Weekly is sexist but the women who pose are at fault, not the publisher.

“It is women who are promoting it (the paper). Women are volunteering to do this, it is not the fault of men,” Heinrich said.

“It would be fantastic if the women stopped posing,” Van Fossan said.

NIU student Jennifer Tomczak, who posed in the Nite Weekly, said the paper is not sexist. “It is up to us if we are the ones to choose to model,” she said.

Also, Tomczak said it gave her “experience in modeling and interviews for modeling jobs.”

Van Fossen said the Alliance recognizes people’s freedom of expression but they would like “advertisers to stop advertising and the students to stop reading it.”

Randy Stillson, owner of Bahama Bronze, 834 W. Lincoln Hwy., advertises in the Nite Weekly and said he does not feel the paper is sexist.

“It is up to the individual girls who choose to pose,” Stillson said.

Deborah Swedberg, Varsity Square Apartments manager, also advertises in the Nite Weekly. “I do think the paper is sexist, and I am behind the protest, but it is read on campus and that is the target I need to reach,” she said.

However, Stillson said it “would be fair if men posed also,” but is not sure that would have as much appeal as women posing.

Trebusak said there is only a small group who are opposed to the paper.

“I think women are a bit jealous of the beautiful women in the paper,” Trebusak said.

Some students walking through the commons gave copies of the Nite Weekly to protestors, Van Fossan said. “There have been some smirks” and comments, however not many “nasty words,” she said.