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Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student media since 1899

 

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

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...

A figure with a pumpkin for a head wears a red sweatshirt and a burning candle trickling wax. Jack is ready for the sweater weather but a little confused on how it’s still hot out in October!  (Aidan Renteria | Northern Star)

Cartoon: Jack O. Lantern

By Aidan Renteria, Cartoonist | October 3, 2024

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures with his hand while speaking at a campaign event Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania. At the event, Trump proposed allowing police “one really violent day” to address crime. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Conservative rhetoric incites hatred

By Jackson Shields, Assistant Opinion Editor | October 2, 2024

From the earliest colonial inquisitions into Native American land to the lynchings in the Jim Crow south, our society was built upon the lashed backs of others. For every dream made in the so-called promised land, thousands more were crushed under its...

An Airstream Caraval on loan to the League of Women Voters sits in the Ohio State University campus Sept. 26. Opinion Columnist Will Thiel believes for Generation Z voters to use their vote most effectively, they need to grasp a better understanding of their personal beliefs and the policies on the ballot, rather than focusing on candidates’ individual qualities. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

Youth voters need to focus on policy, not person

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist | October 2, 2024

This message is directed to you, the young voter who has no idea what they want when it comes to politics.  You are fatalistic, meaning you believe all events are predetermined and therefore are inevitable. Because of that, political theatrics disguise...

Five books sit stacked atop one another next to a plant. Managing Editor Sarah Rose credits literature and storytelling for turning her into the person she is today. (Sarah Rose | Northern Star)

Open a book, escape a little

By Sarah Rose, Managing Editor | October 1, 2024

I live in worlds filled with faeries, dragons and palaces made of glass. I live in worlds where magic exists and where the good guys always come out of a hard-fought battle victorious.  Ever since I was young, losing myself to books was my favorite...

A Huskie holds a microphone while the YikYak yak takes notes in a red notepad. Citizen journalism is growing more prevalent through social media and has the brilliant potential to expand news reach. The Northern Star Editorial Board, however, encourages readers to be critical of what they read on social media and verify information that comes from less credible sources. (Aidan Renteria | Northern Star)

To believe or not to believe: News

By The Northern Star Editorial Board | October 1, 2024

Flyers, word of mouth, social media posts and the Northern Star are all ways to get news on campus. However, not all of these sources are trustworthy. When anyone, not just professional news organizations, can post information online, it can be hard...

North Carolina, a ballot box and a comment symbol sit beneath the words “Look Both Ways” and above the topic of the week. Mark Robinson, the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, is facing controversy after multiple offensive comments were traced back to him by CNN. (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: Mark Robinson

By Santiago Montañez Bertoletti and Will Thiel | September 30, 2024

Mark Robinson, the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, is facing severe controversy for online comments he made from 2010 through 2012. Comments were traced back to Robinson through the username “minisoldr,” which was used repeatedly across...