Virtual career fairs are still important and easily accessed
Jordan Radloff, Opinion Editor
September 25, 2020
It has been a new and unique experience for both students and administration to adjust to having interactions exclusively online this semester. Career Services has developed a way to continue hosting their career fairs, and attending these events is both easy and essential for students looking for employ...
Fill in the blank: Best online class platform
Opinion Staff, Jack Baudoin, Summer Fitzgerald, and Danielle Elliott
September 20, 2020
The best platform or app for online classes and meetings is... Jack Baudoin: Microsoft Teams During this global pandemic, there are multiple platforms that I have been using to attend class. While they are all good and all attain the same goal, Microsoft Teams is by far the best. It has the easiest set...
Temporary in-person class shutdown is a positive move by university
Danielle Elliott, Contributor
September 17, 2020
NIU President Lisa Freeman sent out an email Friday to inform students that the university will temporarily be moving undergraduate courses online for two weeks due to the quick rise in students testing positive for COVID-19. We are now nearly a week into the pause, and it seems to have been a smar...
Firsthand account: Living in a dorm during a pandemic
Summer Fitzgerald, Contributor
September 13, 2020
Attending college during a pandemic was assuredly not on my bucket list for this lifetime, but it is now a reality that I have had to face and make the best of while living in Stevenson Residence Hall at NIU. Ever since March, I have been dreaming of the Fall 2020 semester signifying the pandemic...
Firsthand account: Commuting from home during a pandemic
Jack Baudoin, Contributor
September 10, 2020
Even though we are in college, it does not always feel like it right now. We are not going to and sitting in class like we used to, and that is the exact opposite of what someone would think they would be doing in school. Many students still are experiencing a college lifestyle, whether they are ...
Firsthand account: Living in an apartment during a pandemic
Danielle Elliott, Contributor
September 8, 2020
I first transferred to NIU in January and struggled with deciding if I wanted to commute from my hometown of Plainfield or if I wanted to move into an apartment in DeKalb. After realizing my primary goal of coming to NIU was to connect with other students and professors, I knew that living near campus ...
Surveillance testing is a simple, necessary process
Jordan Radloff, Opinion Editor
September 3, 2020
This week the university’s COVID-19 surveillance testing program began. Increased testing for students attending on-campus classes and events will hopefully allow the university to conduct more effective contact tracing. Taking the nasal swab test was a simple process and all students selected to pa...
Students must do better to stop spread of COVID-19
Summer Fitzgerald, Contributor
September 2, 2020
It is no secret that attending college during a pandemic is one of the most unexpected hardships to go through. Trying to balance community health while still attempting to live out the “best years of your life” is a struggle many young adults are facing across the country right now. Who would ha...
What building a tiny house taught us about life during COVID-19
Elise Smith and Carmen Smith, Alumnae
August 30, 2020
When we graduated from NIU we were lost. During the last years of our programs we came out as a queer couple to our conservative community in our industrial, Midwestern hometown. It did not go well. We were disoriented from the loss of our childhood connections, drained by the prospect of uncertainty ...
NIU should have same responsibility as students in stopping virus spread
Danielle Elliott, Contributor
August 28, 2020
The Dean of Students office sent out an email Saturday to student organization representatives who were registered to participate in the involvement fair during the weekend. The email was sent as an effort to criticize some of the behaviors of representatives in the hopes of them not reoccurring the fol...
Fill in the blank: Advice for new Huskies
Opinion Staff, Jack Baudoin, Summer Fitzgerald, and Danielle Elliott
August 26, 2020
One piece of advice I would give to new Huskies this school year is... Jack Baudoin : Get involved. We are living in a time where school is not normal. Most of us may not be able to go to class everyday and interact with other students, or hang out with as many friends as much as we would want to...
Editorial: Respect COVID-19 guidelines and concerns of fellow Huskies
August 10, 2020
In less than a month, classes will begin again. The Northern Star Editorial Board would like to remind students to consider their health and safety and the safety of those around them as we return to campus. During this uncertainty we live in, it is important to follow safety guidelines and be conside...
DeKALB — The DeKalb County Health Department announced Friday the number of positive COVID-19 cases increased to 1,613. Among those who’ve...