RHA sponsors March Madness Party

RHA is sponsoring a March Madness Party at 6:30 p.m.Thursday at Stevenson North's New Orleans Room. The basketball game will be viewed on the 61-inch flat screen television. In addition, there will be snacks, games and prizes. If watching the game doesn't interest you, there will be other activities such as free pool, ping pong and electronic darts. The event is free and open to all students. For information, visit www.niu.edu/RHA.

Do you have the coolest room on campus?

The RHA is sponsoring a Cool Room Contest for students living in the residence halls. The first place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Residents entering need to send in their photos, either digital, scanned or traditional, along with a description of why their room is the coolest on campus, to the RHA Office at Neptune North B-50. Any part of the room can be entered, such as the common room of a suite or half of a room. The deadline for submission is Thursday. For information, e-mail Andrea at [email protected].

NIU places fourth in forensics competition

Northern Illinois University placed fourth in the open division while hosting the Illinois Intercollegiate Forensics State Tournament on March 7 through 8. Senior Jim Yeager of Roscoe captured the individual state championship in the oratory division. The competition was attended by more than 300 people from across the state and included 22 schools. The team was coached by Judy Santacaterina, Dave Naze, Brad Manley and Forensics Director John Butler, and consisted of varsity members Yeager, junior Heather Short, junior Nicole Carreno, junior Dipal Trivedi and Josh Yardley.

School of Art presents Christopher de Hamel

The School of Art announced its next lecture in the 2002-2003 Elizabeth Allen Visiting Speaker Series, Christopher de Hamel, speaking on "Why an Elephant Can't Bend Its Knees: Medieval Bestiaries and their Purposes." The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jack Arends Hall, Room 100. De Hamel is well known to lovers of medieval manuscripts, having written more than a dozen books and articles on the topic. His current piece is a translation and edition of the Latin Bestiary, which he is basing his lecture on. The bestiary is an illustrated encyclopedia of the animal world, describing the appearance and behavior of animals, drawing moral lessons from their habits. For information, call 753-1473.

College of Law presents symposium domestic violence

The College of Law will hold its 12th annual symposium entitled "Domestic Violence and Victimizing the Victim: Relief, Results, Reform," today at the Holmes Student Center. The event will showcase panel discussions and audience participation focusing on issues regarding the pervasive societal problem of domestic violence. People concerned with the issue of domestic violence are urged to participate in the event to share their knowledge and ideas. The event will be divided into three sections. The first will address the established system of relief of domestic violence. The second will evaluate the effectiveness of existing statutory remedies. The final will address proposals to reform. A reception will follow the presentations for people to interact with the panelists in attendance. Registration fee for the event s $75, which includes the luncheon and reception. For more information, call Chris Weickert at 815-965-2134.

Volunteers needed for change

Voices for Change, formerly known as SOAR, is looking for undergraduate students to become peer educators for the Voices for Change program. People will be responsible for educating others through workshops about issues relating to sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. For more information, call Diane Pospisil-Kinney at 753-1206 or e-mail at [email protected].