Getting up in front of a class for a speech can be a nerve-racking experience. Turn that 30-person class into a crowd of a couple hundred people at one of the most famous concert venues in Chicago, and those nerves get doubled, even tripled. However, that is exactly what I did my junior year…

Despite obstacles, make the most out of college

It may be too soon for students to celebrate marijuana legalization because NIU’s marijuana policy will still stand. This is a blessing in disguise.

The news is constantly battling for our attention through our luminescent screens, as well as radio and print media. In the age of the 24-hour news cycle, this constant stream of information may be contributing to the creation and prolongation of echo chambers, which are harmful for everybod…

On Nov. 5, China announced regulations for minors playing video games. This is part of a series of regulations released by the National Press and Publication Administration, according to the Guardian. 

As I started filling out college applications my senior year of high school, I realized that I wasn’t doing enough and sports weren’t going to cut it, so I joined my high school’s Youth & Government program.

There are 19 empty Senate seats in the Student Association, and every student representative seat on the Faculty Senate is empty with just three weeks left in the fall 2019 semester. The Northern Star has been searching for a student representative to serve on its Publication Board for weeks…

Any possible threat to campus should be taken seriously, but spreading rumors on social media about threats that aren’t proven to be true does more harm than good in making the student population feel safe. Students should have waited for the university police to determine if the alleged saf…

Only use the left lane for passing

I began taking Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies courses my sophomore year at NIU with LGBT Studies. The original idea behind taking the course was to complete a general education requirement. However, I got more out of the class than just an easy A. Over the last three years, my experie…

For two years, the United Faculty Alliance has been working on a contract with the hopes of improving teaching conditions for tenured and tenure-track faculty at NIU. The Board of Trustees will vote Thursday on whether or not the contract will go into effect.

Academic advisers are the most important source of assistance for choosing classes. Without proper guidance, picking classes that fulfill general education and degree requirements can be a confusing process. There are many useful resources students should be aware of before finalizing their …

Growing up, I had a few veterans in my immediate family, as well as a several others spread throughout my family tree. Having veterans in my family means that I take a great deal of pride in their service and in observance of Veterans Day on Monday.

I thoroughly enjoy hip hop music and the culture that follows this genre. Unfortunately, I have not been endowed with the necessary rhythmic abilities and mic skills needed to succeed in the rap game. I understood this in high school, and compensated these deficits with my innate filmmaking …

NIU has partnered with Kishwaukee College to create a program that will allow students from certain high schools to get associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in three years. This can be beneficial to students trying to save time and limit tuition costs. The initiation of this program is a posit…

Music is a universal language. It’s one of humanity’s best pleasures because no matter the language spoken or experiences shared, everyone can appreciate music and what it offers. Because of this, music can be used therapeutically to help those with medical conditions.

In the next 10 days, the weather in DeKalb could get as low as 23 degrees.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” I was told. “There are people far worse off than you.”

NIU has a high population of post-traditional students. In the 2018-19 school year, there were 421 undergraduate students and 1,320 graduate students who were age 35 and older, according to the University Data Book. It is never too late to go to college to get a degree. Students of all ages …

I have had the opportunity to perform at many cool places in my musical career. Recently, I was able to play for one of the largest crowds yet when I performed with the Huskie Marching Band during the halftime show at the Bears Sunday. Performing at Soldier Field, which has a capacity of 61,…

“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night Live!” 

In the 2011 South Park episode “HumancentiPad,” Kyle Broflovski, one of four main characters in the show, agrees to an Apple iTunes update without reading the user agreement. This leads to his forced participation in an experiment that parodies “The Human Centipede,” a film about a mad docto…

Nevada; Michigan; Texas; Arizona; Maryland; Illinois. These are all the states I have lived in throughout my 26 years of existence. Each state had its pros and cons, but the overall experience of living around the country has shaped who I am as a person: cynical.