Re:New DeKalb, Inc. is working to attract students to the downtown DeKalb area.

Greg Herring, assistant athletic director for marketing and sales, said Re:New DeKalb hopes to form a link between the campus and DeKalb communities, and athletics is participating in the effort.

“We’re [Athletics] trying to work on having a more visible identity and spirit in the downtown area,” Herring said.

To do this, Re:New is working to put together spirit packages that businesses can purchase to show their support of the university. The packages will contain NIU flags, pompoms and other items businesses can display to support the Huskies. Herring said he hopes the spirit packages will increase business for merchants, so he expects many store owners to be interested.

Herring hopes the support of the DeKalb community will attract more students to the downtown area, which Herring thinks more students should do, because they can visit businesses unavailable on NIU’s campus.

“There are a lot of hidden gems downtown,” Herring said. “There’s many types of restaurants, shows and activities for all sorts of people with different interests.”

The organization hopes to draw more students in with the use of a “communiversity commons,” which City Manager Mark Biernacki hopes students find attractive.

“The idea is an area open for joint programs, joint efforts,” Biernacki said. “There’s always been great opportunities for such joint efforts between the two entities. It’s important for the university and the community that the university and its constituents embrace what the downtown area has to offer.”

Biernacki thinks there are shopping opportunities, restaurants, services and drinking establishments that students will find appealing.

Re:New DeKalb also hopes to draw in more community members by reaching out to the entire community, including families who rely on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card for food. An EBT card allows its holder to pay for necessities using state-welfare-issued public assistance benefits. Lindsey Engelsman, RNDK marketing and special events coordinator, said the $1,200 machine used to process EBT cards will also be used for debit cards.

“I think we’ll see a demographic we don’t generally see shopping at the farmer’s market,” Engelsman said. “It means more money for the vendor, and we’ll be able to provide produce to more people in the area.”