Normally for Women’s History Month, or at least in the past couple of years, I would have compiled a mix CD featuring all female musicians to distribute to my friends and loved ones. However, I am unhappy to report that this year I somewhat slacked...
Something I have noticed at NIU is there are these displays in almost every building that claim to contain free information about sex and health, and yet I have never seen one containing these phantom pamphlets. Where did these pamphlets go? The optimist...
Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. This is the message that some are finally getting. On March 12, state officials put aside $20 million to revamp Colorado’s mental-health system as part of a plan introduced by Gov. John Hickenlooper in January,...
You are never too old to learn something new, so why should your age dictate your college experience? College life meant doing it big to Jerry Reid, a 68-year-old man who attends the University of Virginia as an undergraduate. Kudos to him, right? Here’s...
Sunday nights--the time when a great feat is oft attempted. Of course, I mean when students try to complete a plethora of homework assignments and studying that was put off for weekend festivities. This was the case for me March 17 upon my return to school...
I have increasingly noticed how little attention is paid to professors in those large lecture classes. With this in mind, I decided to play a little game of Bingo. Not normal Bingo, though--an adaptation of the classic game for a college lecture class...
When I came to NIU as a freshman in fall of 2010, I really wasn’t sure of what to expect from a college experience. Hell, I don’t think anyone ever has an idea. Looking back on the antics I got into paired appropriately with the hard work I’ve done,...
To e-book or not to e-book? That is the question. These days, many classes taught at NIU offer students the opportunity to access either a free or purchased textbook online versus buying from the VCB or the Holmes Student Center bookstore. Some students...
Before we all left to celebrate our spring break last week, I was in class when I got a text from a good friend of mine. She was responding to a joke I made, which was an array of “haha’s” in all caps and an “LOL” at the end. Despite the obvious...
It seems that every day some students seem to forget a very basic thing that should never be forgotten: classroom etiquette. At the beginning of a semester, a class’s instructor will go over a list of guidelines and expectations for each of the students...
Yet again, I find myself damning social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but this time it is for ruining face-to-face conversations. We have all found out breaking news on social networking sites or, like me, became the last to know. I understand...
College can be a struggle. The transition to higher education can involve a change in structure, responsibilities and location. Developing a new social group while maintaining a decent GPA can seem impossible. College, however, can be even more difficult...
