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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

A cartoon imagining of a hurricane looks angrily at a worried Earth. Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall in Florida within only two weeks of each other, devastating the Southeastern United States. (Aidan Renteria | Northern Star)

The world needs climate action immediately

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | October 14, 2024

In the late night of Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast, devastating the region with damages ranging in the hundreds of millions of dollars and fatalities reaching upwards of 227.  Only two weeks later, just as recovery...

Alli Simmons, a junior communication studies major, responds to a street interviews prompt. What’s your favorite meal at the dining halls, and what would you most like to see changed about the dining halls? (Northern Star Graphic)

Street Interviews: Dining halls

By Lucy Atkinson, Opinion Editor | October 14, 2024

Almost every Huskie finds themselves eating from a dining hall at some point during their college career, but students have mixed opinions about the food options available.  From chicken tenders to salad bars to soft serve and cookies, there are...

Ukrainian soldiers honor fallen comrades from the Russo-Ukraine war Oct. 4. Opinion Columnist Santiago Montañez Bertoletti encourages American voters to consider each candidates’ goals for international policies, particularly concerning America’s role in international conflicts, this election. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

International policies should influence your vote

By Santiago Montañez Bertoletti, Opinion Columnist | October 13, 2024

The upcoming presidential election is growing hotter than ever, and one issue that is slowly gaining importance is the candidates’ positions on the role the United States should play in international conflicts. It is no secret the U.S. is one of...

Dracula sucks from a pouch of blood between two other students while his professor says, "Mr. Dracula, what did we say about drinking in class??" No matter how hard or frustrating instructions for midterms are, always remember to stay hydrated. And always drink water, unless you are Dracula. (Daniela Barajas | Northern Star)

Cartoon: Midterm sucks

By Daniela Barajas, Cartoonist | October 11, 2024

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) is tackled in a NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Assistant Opinion Editor Jackson Shields believes the NFL's prioritization of style over safety traps its athletes in a dangerous lifestyle that mimics the Roman gladiators. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The NFL wants gladiators

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | October 10, 2024

Violence is a spectacle. From the ages of gladiatorial combat to the days of schoolyard brawls, the human mind has been fascinated with displays of raw physicality, unleashed in unpleasant ways. It’s a sick part of ourselves we’d rather not own up...

A wildfire blazes Saturday near Arnegard, North Dakota. The increasing rate of wildfires is a steady warning signal that we need swift climate action. (Arnegard Fire Protection District via AP)

Wildfires are warning flags, not just tragedies

By Lucy Atkinson, Opinion Editor | October 9, 2024

North Dakota is experiencing devastating wildfires which have already caused the evacuations of more than 100 people and two fatalities. It should be painfully obvious how necessary strong climate policy will be in the upcoming presidential election.  Powerful...

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...

The front of a local Wingstop plastered with invitations to try their wings. Which Wingstop flavor is the best? (Marco Alvarez | Northern Star)

Poll: Battle of the wings

By Sofia Didenko, Opinion Columnist | October 8, 2024

Everyone should check out the new Wingstop location in Sycamore; it’s to die for. It’s also the closest Wingstop to NIU!  With 13 flavors of chicken wings to choose from, dry to wet, wing enthusiasts trust that Wingstop can quench their thirst...

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...

Elimelech Freites-Alvarado, a sophomore biochemistry major, responds to a street interviews prompt. What’s your game plan if the zombie apocalypse starts on NIU’s campus? (Northern Star Graphic)

Street Interviews: Zombie apocalypse

By Lucy Atkinson, Opinion Editor | October 7, 2024

It’s the first full week of October and spooky scenarios can start running amok in the heads of Halloween lovers.  Zombies are a classic monster trope, and surely most of us have thought about how well we’d fare if the zombie apocalypse began...

Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos speaks at a podium July 26, 2016 in Medellín, Colombia. Opinion Columnist Santiago Montañez Bertoletti witnessed the fight for Santos’ peace process with the guerrilla group FARC in the 2010s, which required the willpower of the people to achieve. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Fight for peace

By Santiago Montañez Bertoletti, Opinion Columnist | October 6, 2024

For decades, a guerrilla group known as FARC-EP, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or the People’s Army, terrorized Colombia. I was born in 2003, at the height of the conflict, when the FARC and paramilitaries reached the pinnacle of their...

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