Professor Neil Foley from the University of Texas at Austin discussed Hispanic identity in America Monday night in the Moot Courtroom of Swen Parson Hall.

The lecture was entitled "Straddling the Color Line." Foley said that people have confusions about the color line.

"Most people understand the color line as being black and white," Foley said. "The problem now, though, isn't the color line. It's color lines as they seem to be multiplying."

Foley went on to explain how many who would be considered Hispanic marked "white" or "other" on surveys.

"There's confusion about Hispanics in the United States," Foley said. "Before 1980, we didn't hear about Hispanics."

Olivia Rodriguez, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said Foley was very informational and that Hispanics marking "white" shocked her.

"As a Hispanic, one thinks we're being represented, but many Hispanics are claiming "white" and it affects our representation," Rodriguez said.

Foley then explained three different court cases that helped explain Hispanic identity.

"Race is a cultural construction," he said. "It's all politics, racial politics."

A court case in 1897 argued that only whites could become naturalized citizens.

In 1954, "busing" was introduced in order to desegregate and integrate schools, but the courts found that only Hispanic and black schools were forced to do the busing.

History graduate student Carl Lindskoog also enjoyed the lecture.

"I think he was really good, and I learned a lot in different areas," Lindskoog said. "This is relevant to what I'm doing research on for my Master's thesis."

After Foley finished, he asked the audience for questions and answered them for about 25 minutes.

Michael Gonzales, director of the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, said the speaker was recommended by grad students in the history department.

"[The speaker] was of interest to all students at NIU," Gonzales said. "He explained how history of Latinos relates to whites and blacks and Asians."

Gonzales also responded to Hispanics marking "white" on surveys.

"It's a question of self-perception and a question of how people perceive you," he said. "White means different things to different people."

The History Graduate Student Colloquium Committee, Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, the University Graduate School's Graduate Colloquium Committee and the NIU Department of History sponsored the lecture.

Some athletic programs in the Mid-American Conference are waiting for the Department of Education to act on recommendations concerning Title IX before making any changes.

"If changes come, we are ready to make any adjustments to maintain compliance," said Ken Peters, assistant athletic director of compliance at the University of Miami of Ohio.

Athletic directors at Ball State and Akron universities joined Peters in saying that they are prepared to change, but added that they do not have any plans to change how they manage their Title IX compliance.

Title IX is the part of the 1972 Education Amendments that requires equal opportunity for men and women in education programs. The Secretary of Education organized the Commission on Opportunities in Athletics in 2002 to evaluate the law, address the controversy surrounding it and present recommendations to the Department of Education.

Michael Thomas, Akron's athletic director, doesn't want to act prematurely before Education makes its final decisions. Until then, Thomas said Akron's athletic program plans on continuing on a policy of keeping Akron students informed about athletic opportunities available.

Thomas said Akron will include any changes the department makes to Title IX compliance as a part of its "Strategic Plan." The university is developing the plan to deal with budget constraints and changing enrollment. He added that Title IX compliance already is a main part of this plan at Akron and he is ready for the changes.

Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham, Ball State University's athletic director, also expects to see some changes in how institutions remain Title IX compliant.

Until Education dictates changes, Cunningham said they will continue to offer athletic opportunities for both genders.

After the NIU women's basketball team's win Saturday night against Toledo, a reporter had one question for Huskie coach Carol Hammerle.

"Are you just going to play it by ear to see how much Kim Boeding will play next game?"

Boeding, a 6-foot senior, has missed the last nine games because of a viral infection in -- what else -- her ear.

Seated next to Hammerle, Boeding laughed about the double-edged comment. But, truth has it, Boeding's situation has been no laughing matter.

Diagnosed with vertigo, which can make you nauseated and throw off your balance, she has not played since Jan. 22 against Central Michigan.

"It's been a complete learning experience for all of us with what vertigo really is," Hammerle said. "Tonight we figured we'd give her a try."

In six minutes of play, Boeding had expected rust on her game with zero points and two rebounds. But her teammates were just happy to have her back on the court.

"It's always good to have a teammate come back, especially Kim," said Kristan Knake, the only other senior on the team. "We've been together for four years and know each other so well on the court."

While Boeding has not traveled with NIU on most of the road trips during her time out, she did participate in practices the two days prior to the Toledo game. But with the practices preparing for the Rockets, Boeding said she didn't go as hard as in a typical practice.

"Little by little we've been working her in practice," Hammerle said. "She needs to get her feet back under her and go from there. We've missed her."

Third on the team in scoring with a 9.6 per game average, she has 153 points on the year in only 16 of her team's 25 games. With a win like Saturday's against the MAC's second best team, NIU looks to be getting out of its runt. Prior to Saturday's game, the Huskies had lost three of its last four games. But now NIU has topped Toledo, and has Boeding back in the lineup heading into the last game of the regular season, which is Senior Day against Western Michigan. Boeding wants to be able to contribute as much to the team as she can.

"I was a little nervous out there," she said. "It was great to get back out there though. My whole center of balance is off. I hope I could get some more minutes against Western Michigan and finally start getting back into the flow of things."

Teaching children about reality, racism and respect is crucial to the way they will view life when they become an adult.

That is a continued theme that will be recognized at a conference entitled, "The Other 3 R's: Reality, Racism and Respect."

The conference will focus on race and its relation to children.

Cathy Lubbers, academic adviser for TLRN, thinks the conference is a good opportunity for students studying education.

"The focus of the funding for this conference is for students majoring in early childhood studies," Lubbers said. "This age group is consistent with the certification they receive from the State of Illinois."

Professors Joe Feagin and June Gordonwill be speaking at the conference.

Feagin is the graduate research professor of sociology at the University of Florida. His primary research interests concern the development and structure of racial and gender prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination, Lubbers said.

In addition to his research, he is the author of more than 160 articles on gender, racial and urban issues, and he has written 44 books on the subject matter of race issues.

Gordon, who is an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, focuses on issues dealing with economic impacts and educational access and success of marginalized student in the United States, Britain and Japan, according to a recent press release.

"This conference is made possible by the generous contributions of an anonymous donor," Lubbers said. "The donor is providing this to the students in the early childhood studies program as an opportunity to learn from and interact with nationally recognized experts in early childhood studies."

Lubbers thinks this conference is important for children.

"Young children, ages 3 to 5, develop racial views at an early age and many adults find themselves in denial of this," Lubbers said.