10. Music: If you ever heard me play the flute, you would know I was not destined to be a musician. In ninth grade I had to make the choice between the student newspaper and the band. Clearly, I was destined to be a writer, not a musician. Failing at...

How often do you think of Mickey Mouse when you’re watching ESPN? If you said never, you’re probably like me and were completely unaware that according to Free Press, The Walt Disney Company owns ESPN along with ABC, Marvel Entertainment, and more...

Here is your sign. It’s time to wake up. We all have our own reasons for being in college. The reasons are as diverse as the individuals here at the university, and I’m not telling you the right reason for being here. But for whatever ambition that...

Opinion: noun. A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. What place does opinion have in our society? As a perspective writer and, generally, a very opinionated person, I ponder this question regularly. Is...

Troy Doetch Columnist Every Halloween, I want my costume to be impressive. Something topical, like Mitt Romney with a binder full of Barbies? Something obscure, like Michael Chabon’s superhero the Escapist, with the golden key insignia? Or something...

The word “Halloween” usually conjures up images of mischief and merriment both for kids and college students, right? Well, looking back on all the things children typically experience on and just before Oct. 31, it seems abundantly clear to me now...

Earlier this year, the Northern Star Editorial Board made a decision to stop running candidate endorsements. Nine months later, we stand by that decision. Many newspapers continue to endorse candidates during election season. The Chicago Tribune published...

How many times a day are you judged based on your looks? How many times a day do you judge someone’s appearance? In both cases, the numbers are probably too high to count. When I walk to class, I know that I judge everyone I pass, putting them into...

I like to think I’m a pretty brave guy most of the time. Like most people, there are a few things I’m afraid of--mostly heights and confined spaces. I’m a pretty big guy, so falling from a high place means I fall hard, and I’ve broken enough bones...

1. Your parents raised you right: You weren’t raised to sit in a corner and let everyone else make decisions for you. They told you to stand up for yourself, right? Well, that hasn’t changed just because you’re an adult. Instead of standing up for...

Please do me a solid and stop talking about greatness of the iPad mini, which almost sold out in preorder this weekend. It’s sick. And not in a good way, like, “Shoot, bro, your slacklining skills are sick.” No, the iPad mini and its buzz is making...

Holly New The potential for voter fraud is outstanding. A study from the Pew Center for the States, published February 2012, found that “approximately 24 million—one of every eight— voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or...