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Northern Star

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Helping Hope Haven

By Jessica Fink | November 16, 2006

DeKALB | Tonight's the night to rock The House! CONTACT Communications Group, a division within NIU's Public Relations Student Society of America, will host Rock the House for Hope at 5:30 p.m. at The House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Highway. The event will...

Managing DeKalb

By Herminia Irizarry | November 16, 2006

How long have you been a city manager for DeKalb? I've been with the city of DeKalb for two, nearly three years. What exactly are your responsibilities? I oversee the day-to-day operations for the city. Could you explain how an average day as Mark Biernacki...

Time to go for political signs

By Christopher Schimmel | November 15, 2006

DeKALB | Political parties have two more days to take down any straggling campaign signs. Each party is required to pay a $100 deposit to ensure the removal of all of its campaign signs within 10 days of elections. If the signs are taken down within 10...

DeKalb, Sycamore citizens weigh in on Iraq withdrawal

By Ryan Strong | November 15, 2006

DeKALB | DeKalb and Sycamore are neighboring towns, but the recent election showed they are worlds apart — at least politically. This past midterm election ballot included a referendum asking residents whether or not they thought immediate withdrawal...

Police chief: Other forces don’t stack up

By Katie Trusk | November 15, 2006

SYCAMORE | Sycamore Chief of Police Don Thomas is a man of many honors. Hanging on his office walls are awards from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where he was member of the security team. Trained at Northwestern University and by the Federal Bureau of...

Local historian gets humanities award

By Katie Trusk | November 15, 2006

SYCAMORE | DeKalb County historian Phyllis Kelley received the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award, which honors individuals who donate their time to the humanities and help build communities for the next century. Both Sycamore Mayor Ken Mundy and DeKalb...

Campus crime continues

By Kenneth Lowe | November 14, 2006

DeKALB | Two more robberies occurred near Greek Row over the weekend, continuing the trend that began shortly after Homecoming Week. The first robbery happened at 12:01 a.m. Saturday on the 800 block of Normal Road. According to a DeKalb Police statement,...

Former Speaker Hastert deals with lame-duck status

By Caitlin Mullen | November 14, 2006

DeKALB | As commercials return to normal — with mudslinging again exclusive to cleaning products — the post-election focus turns to the Congress of the future. In particular, the status of Congressman J. Dennis Hastert in the House of Representatives...

Durbin’s new role in Congress

By Caitlin Mullen | November 14, 2006

DeKALB | After twelve years of Republican control, power over both houses of the United States Congress Democrats shifted to Democrats on Nov. 7. The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate will have a strong impact on Illinois....

Robbery response

By Kenneth Lowe | November 13, 2006

DeKALB | Concern over the safety of NIU students and DeKalb citizens has increased during last week's surge in robberies. DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said none of the robberies appear to be related in any way. "I think we have one of those situations...

Accident claims life of 18-year-old driver

By Nyssa Bulkes | November 13, 2006

DeKALB | The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fatal accident that occurred early Sunday at 2:56 a.m. on Irene Road north of Baseline Road. The vehicle was traveling southbound on Irene Road when it veered off of the roadway to the right,...

The bottom line

By Jessica Fink | November 13, 2006

DeKALB | Fifth limbs have sprung up on people everywhere, these limbs can usually be found attached to people's ears.

Some people choose to completely abandon land lines in favor of their mobile phones; forcing both companies and consumers to adjust.

Lukulos Restaurant, 1101 W. Lincoln Highway, recently faced one such adjustment.

After the Northern Star published a student's complaint on Thursday, Nov. 2, Lukulos owner Pete Matarangas reconsidered the restaurant's phone policy. Lukulos previously would not deliver to any students in residence halls who couldn't provide a land line number.

"I'm attentive to my customer's needs," he said. "If they're not happy, then I'm going to do something about it."

As a result, the old policy was replaced by one more accommodating to students. While long-distance orders were originally accepted from everywhere except the residence halls, the new policy allows for orders to be placed by any cell phone user.

"My room phone doesn't even work," said junior economics major George Ferguson, who wrote the Nov. 2 letter. "I'm glad they did something about this because I couldn't think of any good reason why they had the policy in the first place."

Matarangas said the "unreliability of cell phone reception in the dorms" was one of those reasons. He noted the inconvenience to his delivery drivers when they have to repeatedly drive back and forth after being unable to reach a cell phone-using customer. The overall safety of his drivers was another concern.

"In case of an emergency, the police want to be able to track the problem down," he said. "This is possible if we have a room number."

Cindy Phillips, director of NIUTEL and ITS Customer Support Services, said there are "three top things" the university concerns itself with in regard to student land line use: providing students with a reliable form of 911 security, the university's level of difficulty in trying to contact students who only have cell phones and giving students a cost-effective alternative by which to make local calls.

"I don't think [not using land lines] is so much of a generational thing as it is the ability to be un-tethered," Phillips said. "It's a technology that's being embraced by all groups."

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