“Star Trek” has popularized the idea that space is the “final frontier” for human expansion, and people like Elon Musk aim to make this a reality. Yet human colonists on other planets will still need to learn, and we already have the means for...

Every college town needs lots of cheap places to eat with your friends and family. Here in DeKalb, we currently have McDonald’s, Culvers, Pizza Hut, Burger King and D.P. Dough among others. But the Northern Star Editorial Board has some suggestions...

On All Hallows’ Eve, the goblins come to play! The Northern Star is excited to announce it is holding a Halloween costume contest to celebrate the finale of spooky season on campus.  The contest opens for submissions Oct. 23 and closes Oct. 29...

Latino Heritage Month came to a close last Wednesday, and to continue the celebration of the Latino community on campus, Opinion Columnist Santiago Montanez Bertoletti talked with three Spanish-speaking students about the impact they hope to make in their...

When I first moved to Illinois my first year at NIU, I struggled painfully with homesickness. And like the tiny, acrobatic superheroes they are, campus squirrels helped me cope. I’m hoping they’ll help me face a different challenge this semester.  As...

Claudius Hardrick, a first-year economics major, was walking down a familiar path at NIU when he spotted the Asian American Resource Center and remembered his goal to connect with his grandpa's culture, which he hopes to make his own.  Hardrick recently...

Residence hall security at NIU is extensive; Neptune Hall alone requires students to scan their keycard and use their keys at least twice just to enter their room. But this security can be problematic for careless students. Just a few weeks ago, I...

My parents owned two cats before I was born. Their names were Baby and Jeong. They lived long enough for me to remember them, but not long enough to love them. Love for my cats would be learned later in life. I remember little of Baby, but Jeong, our...

El Mes de la Herencia Hispana es más que un recordatorio de la contribución que la inmigración hispana le ha dado a Estados Unidos desde el siglo XX. Es una forma de conmemorar los sacrificios que muchas personas han tenido que hacer por el bienestar...

SPRING SEMESTER IS BETTER THAN FALL SEMESTER By: Ethan Ernst, Opinion Columnist No one likes to be too cold or too hot, but Neptune Hall West and North students, such as myself, are more likely to deal with the latter, especially during fall semester. Neptune...

During college, students shouldn’t always be studying. You need to have some space to rest your mind and have fun with friends.  Some of these moments can be entertained by board games, popular among many cultures and known throughout the world,...