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Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student media since 1899

 

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

A medical professional consults a patient while arrows point to cartoons of a heart, medicine and a thermometer. Opinion Columnist Sofia Didenko encourages students to get a checkup in order to prevent the spread of sickness come this winter season. (Jackson Shields | Northern Star)

Get a checkup this sniffly season

By Sofia Didenko, Opinion Columnist | October 9, 2024

As the cold weather settles in, it's hard to ignore the increasing number of sniffles emerging in the classroom. For students living in residence halls and attending crowded classes, the close environment at NIU can make it all too easy for a common cold...

A teal ribbon, the ribbon for sexual assault, floats in the faint light of a prison cell. Juvenile detention facilities in Illinois and across the U.S. have recently received disturbing allegations of sexual assault, and the result lawsuits deserve the public’s attention. (Daniela Barajas | Northern Star)

Editorial: Illinois failed its juvenile inmates

By The Northern Star Editorial Board | October 8, 2024

TRIGGER WARNING: This story and its sources include some graphic discussion of sexual assault. Juvenile detention centers across the state are facing lawsuits for decades of sexual abuse. We need to talk about it. Illinois is one of multiple states...

An alien head, a ringed planet and a trio of stars sit beneath the words "Look Both Ways" and above the topic of the week. Does life exist out in deep space? (Jackson Shields | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: Life in Space

LIFE IN SPACE IS NOT PROBABLE  By: Santiago Montañez Bertoletti, Opinion Columnist While it is undeniable that life in space is a fact that we will find out about sooner or later, because of the nature of the universe, this discovery is far from...

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures with his hand while speaking at a campaign event Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania. At the event, Trump proposed allowing police “one really violent day” to address crime. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Conservative rhetoric incites hatred

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | October 2, 2024

From the earliest colonial inquisitions into Native American land to the lynchings in the Jim Crow south, our society was built upon the lashed backs of others. For every dream made in the so-called promised land, thousands more were crushed under its...

A Huskie holds a microphone while the YikYak yak takes notes in a red notepad. Citizen journalism is growing more prevalent through social media and has the brilliant potential to expand news reach. The Northern Star Editorial Board, however, encourages readers to be critical of what they read on social media and verify information that comes from less credible sources. (Aidan Renteria | Northern Star)

To believe or not to believe: News

By The Northern Star Editorial Board | October 1, 2024

Flyers, word of mouth, social media posts and the Northern Star are all ways to get news on campus. However, not all of these sources are trustworthy. When anyone, not just professional news organizations, can post information online, it can be hard...

Tamiah Griffin, a freshman art major, responds to a street interview prompt. How often do you skip classes, and do you think attendance should be mandatory? (Northern Star Graphic)

Street Interviews: Attendance and missing class

By Lucy Atkinson and Sofia Didenko | September 30, 2024

Every school day, all college students have to make a choice: do I attend class today? Do I really need those notes?  Most professors would argue yes, you really need those notes.  Even plenty of students agree it’s in their every benefit...

A figure sits thinking in front of a rainbow gradient of humanities field symbols, while spiky speech bubbles coming from off-frame read: “Useless!” “Worthless!” and “Low Pay!” Opinion Columnist Sofia Didenko believes labeling certain majors useless is both harmful and untrue. (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

No major is useless

By Sofia Didenko, Opinion Columnist | September 29, 2024

When coming to college, many students grapple with the task of selecting a field of study to pursue. With many factors to weigh, this decision can create a tornado of doubt. Students  are torn between their strengths, parental and cultural expectations,...

"Faulkner Studies," volumes one through three, sits on a bookshelf near other famous literary works in the reference section of the Founder's Memorial Library. Opinion Columnist Jackson Shields encourages the consumption of challenging art to promote deeper thinking. (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Try art that challenges your thinking

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | September 26, 2024

There are few words more challenging to define than art, because to define art is to detract from the unique quality that makes it special in the first place: its fluidity. From one person to the next, there is no stable understanding of what art is,...

Presidential nominees Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump shake hands before the start of the Sept. 10 ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia. Opinion Columnist Sofia Didenko believes Harris won the debate by handling Trump’s typical debate tactics, including red herrings and name-calling, with grace and maturity. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)

Harris demonstrated reliable leadership in debate

By Sofia Didenko, Opinion Columnist | September 23, 2024

From commentary of specialists and polls, the general consensus seems to be that Democrats are more confident in their candidate compared to Republicans after the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald...

Two orange mushrooms grow side-by-side on a mossy forest floor in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Opinion Editor Lucy Atkinson and her older sister were delighted to find the mushroom pair in August, looking like another little pair of sisters. (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

No friendship like a sister’s

By Lucy Atkinson, Opinion Editor | September 22, 2024

One part of my life I feel luckiest for is having a sister.  When I was born, mine brought a dandelion to the hospital to greet me with, clutched in her tiny, toddler fingers. Every day after that, my sister – who is two years older than me –...

A figure stares at a computer screen in the dark while images of the same person are posted to their wall. Becoming so obsessed with a celebrity to the point of excusing problematic behavior is a problematic norm on its own, Opinion Columnist Jackson Shields argues. (Mary Ngo | Northern Star)

We just want to dance

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | September 18, 2024

On March 22, 2024, hip-hop’s boogeyman returned from a 10-month silence to do what he does best: shake the industry awake. With a single feature verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s collaboration project “We Don’t Trust You,” Kendrick Lamar put...

A Huskie holds a bone in its mouth that reads “Notre Dame” in front of a larger stack of bones. NIU’s status as an underdog makes spectacular wins like the victory over Notre Dame more meaningful. (Jayce Weir | Northern Star)

Editorial: NIU’s underdog status is prideworthy

By The Northern Star Editorial Board | September 17, 2024

Collegiate athletics is full of great traditions passed down from class to class, but few represent their university like the “boneyard” tradition that represents NIU. Since 1983, NIU football has marked its wins over Power Four – formerly Power...