Wake up. It's 7:30 a.m., and NIU assistant softball coach Kevin Welch is heading the early-morning batting practice for the Huskies. Like clockwork, Welch is up at the crack of dawn working out the players. "In order to be the best, you have to put in...

Chicago's own Kill Hannah, which has a unique electronica sound, will play with a special guest at 7 p.m. Friday at the Holmes Student Center's Regency Room. Student ticket prices are $6, general public tickets are $8. Recently the Weekender sat down...

Rachael Sage makes beautiful and soulful pop music in the vain of the Indigo Girls or Tori Amos. With "Illusion's Carnival," the New York-based singer, songwriter and pianist weaves her crisp and breathy voice in and out of folky, piano-driven melodies...

A proposed Illinois State House bill could provide a $1 increase in the Illinois minimum wage up to $6.50 an hour. Steve Cunningham, associate vice president of Administration and Human Resource Services, said student jobs on campus could be cut as a...

Last November, Eminem shocked the world and proved that not only could he rap, but he could act. "8 Mile" is a tale of Eminem's life as the rapper, Jimmy Smith Jr. or, as his friends call him, Rabbit. As the movie opens, we see the aspiring rapper perfecting...

The Student Association finance committee spent all of its more than three-hour meeting Wednesday reviewing the Campus Activities Board's proposed budget for fiscal year 2004. This is the second day spent examining CAB's budget, making it a grand total...

After hearing Gov. Rod Blagojevich announce his budget address Wednesday afternoon, NIU President John Peters quickly responded to how the pending cuts will affect NIU and that summer classes will go on as scheduled. Peters addressed the University Council,...

There was an overwhelming response to last week's Beat the Caption in the Breakdown. So, we decided to print the better ones (those that were clean enough). We have designated the best, runner-up and second runner-up. Other than that, the captions are...

Playing its second game in 10 days, the NIU softball team struggled to find any offense against Western Illinois on Wednesday. The Huskies managed three hits in a 2-1 non-conference loss at McKee Stadium in Macomb. "When you get three hits in a game,...

"Hitchcock always maintained he could make a film about a man in a telephone booth," writes Sammy Davis Jr. in his autobiography, "Hollywood in a Suitcase." I've spent the past days pondering just what Alfred Hitchcock would have done differently if he...

NIU President John Peters gave as many specifics as he could at Wednesday's University Council meeting as to what actions would be taken to cut the now 2.9-percent reserve for NIU's fiscal year 2003 budget and the 8-percent reserve for fiscal '04 budget....

"Howdy, folks, you like blood, violence, freaks of nature?" Well if you do, then the soundtrack of "House of 1000 Corpses" should satisfy your appetite. Country lovin'? I think not. Good ol' boys? Try again. The great American pastime of sadism and dark...