It is amazing that we are all required to pass a test on the U.S. Constitution and yet many of us seem not to know what it truly means. I am referring to the incident regarding Sigma Chi's suspension. It seems to me that the key issue here is freedom...

Two pit bull terriers that fatally mauled 25-year-old Kevin Cull in a rural Geneva home Nov. 10 were put to sleep by lethal injection Jan. 5. Cull, a NIU chemistry graduate student, was attacked by the dogs while visiting 29-year-old Thomas Kennedy. Kennedy...

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that changed the nation—a dream of equal rights that now has the power of law. And on Monday, Illinois joined the nation in honoring his legacy. "Yes, Martin, you're gone, but your dream is still a reality,"...

The recent university decision to end all NIU fraternity little sister programs by the end of this semester has brought the issue of sexual assault to the front pages of the newspaper once again. The university's action, initiated by Jon Dalton, vice...

I feel moved to make a few comments about the anti-racism rally of Friday, Dec. 2. As Franklin Roosevelt once said, the speakers who were present "are a credit to their race; the human race." They presented intelligent, articulate criticisms of white...

Martha Palmer's letter on Nov. 29 is quite generous in stating that the JLS is "an asset to the NIU campus." She is also making a very broad assumption in saying the JLS "led the total campus as a whole" when a racist flyer appeared on campus. I do not...

NIU's investigation into a sexual assault that occurred at a fraternity party last week raises some serious questions about the university's handling of such incidents. The victim, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha's little sisters, was treated at the University...

BSU president Tracy Deis' opening remark in the Dec. 5 issue of Star on the Sigma Chi situation of "I'm pissed, and I'm sure everyone else is" struck a discordant note in me. To use such poor language only serves to draw attention away from the issues...

It has come to a time in America where it apperars to me that whites are subject to oppression. In response to the sanctions against Sigma Chi, I get so angry and frustrated that all I can really do is laugh. The university is obviously using the fraternity...

I just wanted to take the time to commend you and all the staff at The Northern Star for the excellent job I feel you're doing with the paper. Once I started at NIU three years ago I've noticed an unmistakable increase in both the quality of the reporting...

Twice in the last week, students have marched into the office of NIU President John LaTourette to confront him with questions about what they call institutional racism on campus. In both instances, the students were disappointed to find LaTourette out...

Columnist's nose (whoops! note): This is the fourth in a series of columns designed to impose upon you the author's random thoughts, worthless suggestions and tips on how to get out of taking finals. Things About Which I Have Been Thinking About Department:...