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.

With its first sweep of Toledo in 20 years, the NIU men's basketball team is assured at least a top four seed in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Huskies topped the Rockets 85-75 Saturday night at the Convocation Center in front of 5,272 fans.

NIU (15-11, 11-5 MAC) had four players in double digit scoring and two with double-doubles.

Toledo (11-15, 5-11 MAC) rocketed out of the gates quickly, getting out to a 21-12 advantage. But with 7:33 left in the first half, the momentum took a drastic change with Toledo up 26-16.

"We weren't getting back and they had a lot of easy transition buckets on us," Toledo guard Nick Moore explained.

Indeed the Huskies hit Toledo with a barrage of transition buckets, but that wasn't all. With an assortment of long-range artistry, layups and rim-rattling slam dunks, NIU went on a 19-0 run and held the Rockets scoreless for seven minutes and 15 seconds from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second.

"We just brought the intensity that we needed," NIU forward Marcus Smallwood said. "We had them down and we just wanted to keep the pressure on them."

The Huskies never let Toledo back in the game after their stretch run, keeping at least a 7-point lead the last 13 in a half minutes of the game. NIU scored a season-high 56 points in the second half.

With the win and only two games left, the Huskies clinched at least a top four spot for the MAC Tournament, which means they'll receive a first-round bye or face last place Buffalo at home. (See sidebar for more.)

Senior Jay Bates had a team-high 18 points, including 10-11 free-throw shooting. Perry Smith and Smallwood complemented Bates with 17 points apiece. Jamel Staten had his first career double-double as a Huskie with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Smallwood also had 11 rebounds.

"Our first key of the game today was to get back on track and win the rebounding battle," said NIU coach Rob Judson, who's team had 14 more rebounds than Toledo. "We accomplished that and that really set the tone for the game."

The Rockets didn't have any double-digit rebounders. They were led by junior guard Keith Triplett with 29 points, including 5-of-8 three-point shooting. Moore had 17 points and Sammy Villegas, one of the MAC Freshman of the Year front-runners, totaled 14 points.

"How we played in the first half, we played the exact opposite in the second half," said seven-year Toledo coach Stan Joplin, who called this season his most disappointing. "We were too casual and the turnovers really hurt us."

Behind some strong pitching and key hitting the NIU baseball team came away from its weekend series in Memphis, Tenn., with a 2-1 record.

The Huskies (2-3) started the weekend with a 4-3 victory over Ball State in 10 innings Friday, giving coach Ed Mathey his first win as NIU's skipper.

Sophomore Greg Larsen drove in the tying and winning runs with a pair of walks.

Senior Max Sulzberger picked up the win by working a perfect 10th inning.

Riding high after their come from behind victory over the Cardinals, the Huskies defeated St. Louis 6-1 Saturday putting them at .500 on the season despite committing five errors.

The NIU bats came alive against the Billikens as they slugged out 13 hits, including three from junior Mike Santoro who also drove in a career-high five runs.

Starting junior pitcher Zach Minor didn't need that much support as he allowed just one unearned run in seven innings while striking out six.

"Our pitching has been very good, we can't complain about that," Mathey said. "They've been taking charge of the ball game and have come out throwing strikes. They're giving us a chance to win ball games and that's what you want from your pitchers."

The two-game winning streak for the Huskies came to an end Sunday with a 8-4 loss to Southern Illinois.

Despite being ahead 3-0 after three innings, poor fielding did the Huskies in this time as they committed four errors.

"Anytime you give up 15 free passes between walks and errors you don't stand much of a chance to win," Mathey said. "That's the reality of it. We didn't play a good game of baseball today."

For the weekend the Huskies punched out 29 hits. Santoro led the way as he went 4-11 with five RBIs. NIU's junior infielder Joe Mazzuca also helped the offensive attack with five hits on the weekend.

"The hits are starting to drop in," Mathey said. "Our approach has been healthy. We're starting to come around. If we can get it figured out on defense we're going to be a pretty solid team."