I saw graffiti on a chair in DuSable Hall. It was scrawled in red letters and it read “N_I_Screw_U”. I think that sums up the general flavor of things here in DeKalb.

On January 20th, due to budget cuts, three of the new student cartoonists were unceremoniously dumped from The Northern Star; the empty space was conveniently filled with more nationally syndicated strips because they are cheaper to run. The students offered to work for less money—the salary was entirely secondary to the experience and exposure of being in print.

But to the supervisors of The Star, it was a closed case—over and done with. How entirely frustrating to artistic integrity! A college paper should foster more creative growth—and when a student is motivated to create, he or she should not be discouraged. And besides that, I don’t think Bill Watterson or Gary Trudeau go to NIU.

Something about this seemed entirely wrong and backwards. So I carried petitions and got the advice and signatures of some very important people and faculty (nearly the whole fourth floor of art professors, as well as School of Art Chair, Richard Carp)—and also local businesses who advertise in The Star. I spoke at an SA meeting, and they were generous enough to try and help, although, I have now realized that The Northern Star has neatly swept it all under their big old rug. They never even called me to say “Get lost” or “Go scratch”. Like it never even happened. Where is my petition with the 119 signatures/comments? Did the supervisors of The Star even look at it, or is it still sitting under a big paperweight somewhere?

Your columnists always complain about the apathy on this campus. As far as I’m concerned, The Northern Star is one of its biggest perpetrators.

ELLEN DAHLBERG

Senior

Studio Art