Alumni who live and work in the heart of downtown Chicago now have a piece of NIU close by.

The NIU Alumni Association finished work on their Alumni and Visitor's Center in Chicago on April 1. The center is located at the Chicago Athletic Association Building, 12 S. Michigan Ave.

"We started planning this since Sept. 2001," said Joseph Matty, assistant director of outreach services. "It was a slow moving process, but we wanted to do it right. Both the University of Illinois and Illinois State University have alumni centers in Chicago, and we have more alums living and working in Chicago than those two schools."

Matty is referring to the 160,000 alumni in Illinois, with the majority of them around Chicago. The center was built for convenience, entertainment and keeping the alumni in touch with NIU, something that has been difficult in the past.

"The function of the center is to utilize different events, especially for the three Chicago chapters," Matty said. "We haven't decided whether or not we will have an official grand opening ceremony. We feel that because of the current budget time, we are unsure about publicizing in that manner. We feel that the center is in the alums' best interest."

According to Northern Now, the center will coordinate and consolidate activities, programs, services and events for NIU in the heart of downtown Chicago.

The funds for the center came directly from the Alumni Association operating budget, Matty said.

"Our alums are very excited about this," Matty said. "We appreciate all the help and support we have received from the university. We feel that we are catering to the alums' needs."

Culture and talent will come together at the Miss Latina NIU Cultural Pageant.

Presented by the ladies of Sigma Lambda Gamma, the event will be held today at the Holmes Student Center's Carl Sandburg Auditorium.

The event is in honor of our founders week, said Karla Pavone, former president of the sorority.

"It's a very informative pageant," said Sarah Allen, cultural awareness chairwoman for Sigma Lambda Gamma. "Students get to see the different Latino backgrounds that are on campus."

This year, three ladies will be competing for the title and will be judged by five faculty members.

Hagar Allen, last year's pageant winner and vice president of the sorority, said it was a privilege to compete.

"It provided an outlet for myself," Hagar said.

The contestants will strut their stuff in cultural wear, formal wear and also participate in a talent portion and a question/answer session at the end.

Dance troupe Vibe and Groundhogs, a break-dancing group, will be among the four filler acts.

Sarah Allen, who attended last year's pageant, said she was surprised because she was expecting a traditional beauty pageant.

"They really stressed cultural background and pride," Allen said. "Our motto is ‘culture is pride, pride is success,' and we live by it."