Northern Star

Sponsors of DUI Week set up two-car display

By Lisa Ferro | April 4, 1990

Students who drink and drive can expect cramped space according to two smashed cars with shattered glass, bent doors and twisted seats. The two-car display on Carroll Avenue was set up for DUI Awareness Week sponsored by Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning...

Budget established for commission

By Alyce Malchiodi | April 4, 1990

NIU's Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities was established in 1982 and got a budget for the first time this year. The commission received $7,000 for an operating budget from NIU President John La Tourette's office to help finance the organization's...

DeKalb police, fire authorities search for answers to fire

By Mark McGowan | April 4, 1990

DeKalb Police and Fire Department officials are closing in on the person who allegedly set fire to the basement of a DeKalb townhouse. A March 18 fire caused nearly $3,500 damage to the basement of Old Orchard Townhouse #9, 1001 W. Lincoln Hwy., including...

McCormack gains RHA endorsement

By Maureen Morrissey | April 4, 1990

Residence Hall Association executives announced their endorsements for Student Association executive elections. A President Gail Colbert announced Monday that she, Administration Vice President Nicole Mitchell, Programming Vice President Ted Millazo,...

Conference recognizes young authors

By Johanna Harris | April 4, 1990

Illinois is home to thousands of authors - young, budding, enthusiastic authors. In fact, about 1,500 of these writers will be attending the 16th Annual Young Authors Conference held at Illinois State University in Normal this May. Who are these aspiring...

Standards eased for new students

By Dee O’Neal | April 4, 1990

A steep decline in the number of high school seniors means that students who meet only the minimum requirements will have a better chance of being admitted to NIU next year, said NIU President John La Tourette. Nick Noe, director of NIU Institutional...

AI amendment bans homosexuals

By Ellen Skelly | April 4, 1990

NIU's Amnesty International is the second group in one week that banned homosexuals as a protest to the conflict between ROTC policy and the NIU constitution. The group amended their constitution Monday to ban homosexuals from being voting members "until...

SAMTB supports paid vice chairman

By Maureen Morrissey | April 4, 1990

Student Association Mass Transit Board members supported a paid vice chairman position for the board Monday. Transit Board Adviser David Pack suggested the position to the board because of increased responsibilities. The SA Senate must approve the position....

Volunteering pays off for three NIU students

By Serena Moy | April 4, 1990

Volunteer work has paid off for three NIU students who received General Motors Volunteer Spirit Awards. The students received three shares of GM stock and a plaque at a reception Tuesday in the Holmes Student Center's Sky Room. Fabian De Rozario, Office...

West residence halls, OCR blackout blamed on switch

April 4, 1990

A blackout at NIU's west residence halls lasting more than 30 minutes late Tuesday afternoon was caused by a faulty Commonwealth Edison power switch. Bart Wilcox, a Com Ed spokesman, said electricity can be transferred from one powerline to another manually...

Democrats elect new party chairman

By Stewart Warren | April 4, 1990

The DeKalb County Democrats elected a more conservative member as party chairman Monday night. Gene Sparrow, 43, was elected party chairman by a vote of 200-180 over DeKalb resident Lynne Switzky. Bill Brady, former party chairman and DeKalb attorney,...

Approval to publish evaluations sought

By Deborah Costello | April 4, 1990

Student Association committee members have one week to polish up a proposal to publish teacher evaluations.

The SA Academic Affairs Committee will go before the University Council April 11 to gain approval to publish teacher evaluations.

Jim Mertes, SA senator and committee member, said the UC Comittee A suggested four modifications before the proposal reaches the council.

The UC committee members suggested publishing the proportion of students participating in the evaluation, allowing the evaluation forms to be returned to instructors, publishing results for each individual class—not just for each instructor—and allowing the publication to be voluntary for each instructor, Mertes said.

Mertes said the Academic Affairs Committee conceded to the UC committee's demands, but had a "big problem" with the committee's insistence to have the publication voluntary instead of mandatory.

"Students should have a right to evaluate their teachers' performance, make comments on their performance and have those evaluations published regardless of if they agree," Mertes said.

But Sue Ouellette, the UC committee chairman, said the proposal will not be approved unless it is voluntary.

"Our primary concern is the issue of our right to confidentiality. The committee is concerned with safeguarding the constitutionality of course evaluation and how it will be used," Ouellette said.

"There isn't any outlandish opposition to the proposal. Many of the faculty support the students suggestions. We are considering the revised proposal," she said.

The evaluations would include statistics of student assessments of their instructors based upon the the following five objective questions:

-Was the instructor able to communicate effectively?

-Did the instructor grade exams, quizzes and assignments fairly?

-Did the instructor place reasonable demands upon the student?

-Did the instructor convey a thorough knowledge of the subject?

-Was the instructor actively helpful to the student?

There would be five grading categories: (1) Strongly disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, (5) Strongly Agree.

Funding alternatives for the evaluations include selling advertising space within the packet itself, charging students who buy the publication, funding through the SA or NIU funding, Mertes said.

"We would like this to go into effect as early as next semester. That would mean students would be evaluating their teachers this semester," he said.

"This was an excellent opportunity for students and faculty to interchange their definite concerns on the issue," Ouellette said.

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