Northern Star staff

Congratulations! You’ve successfully made your way through the first week of classes. Take some time to unwind and escape from the strenuous homework and not-so-friendly professors at these events this weekend:

Today

Graduate student Adam Burgess will lead a talk on LGBT literary pedagogy and how some historical gay texts are being left out of conversation, but are still relevant to modern LGBT studies. The talk begins at 12 p.m. and will be hosted in the Holmes Student Center’s Blackhawk Annex.

The NIU Art Musuem will hold a traveling exhibition called Unloaded, which explores the national and social issues surrounding gun ownership. The exhibition will run through Oct. 24 in the Altgeld Hall art galleries.

Friday

Arguably one of the biggest events in DeKalb, Corn Fest returns for its 38th year. The festival is free and located in downtown DeKalb. It will include a carnival, over 100 vendors and a sound stage that will house local and international music acts. You wouldn’t want to miss this year’s Corn Fest; it’ll be a cool way to get acquainted with DeKalb and NIU.

Grab a friend as the Latino Resource Center holds its annual Latin Chill fest. The fest will include live music, food and a dunk tank and information about latino based organizations. Be sure to come out and learn about the center. The festival kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Latino Resource Center.

The Red and Black Huskies Welcome Holmes is a fun-filled event to unite new and seasoned Huskies. This free event will begin at 5 p.m. and will be held in the Holmes student center. It will include inflatables, laser tag and a mechanical bull.

Saturday

The Black Student Union will hold Fresh Orgs, a festival to promote students’ involvement in black organizations on campus. The event begins at 2 p.m. and will be located at the Center for Black Studies. It will include free food and live music.

Were your first week of classes a tad bit stressful? Go and party with the charismatic men of Phi Rho Eta fraternity inc. as they host their Back 2 School jam in the Campus Recreation Center. The event is free and open to all NIU students. Tickets are available online at niutickets.com.