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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
All content by Will Thiel
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
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
A sad, little stomach cries in a thought bubble surrounded by various breakfast foods. What college kid breakfast do you think is best? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Poll: What college kid breakfast is best?

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
September 24, 2024
The Pride of the Midwest Marching band marches through the tailgate yard before the Aug. 21 football game with Western Illinois University. The marching band's presence is critical to the atmosphere of any football game, Opinion Columnist Will Thiel argues. (Totus Tuus Keely | Northern Star)

Football needs marching band

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
September 19, 2024
A figure in bed sits between a map icon for school and a map icon for home beneath the words "Look Both Ways" and the subject of the week: first-years on campus. Should first-years be required to live on campus? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: First-years on campus

By Santiago Montañez Bertoletti and Will Thiel
September 9, 2024
A chalk drawing from the NIU CRU Christian Ministry at MLK Commons spells out “Explore faith in Jesus.” Opinion Columnist Will Thiel identifies as Christian and inspires his politics from religious values. (Tim Dodge | Northern Star)

Everything will be OK

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
September 5, 2024
Explosive devices sit in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car as they were originally discovered July 13. Crooks was responsible for the shooting that took place at a Trump rally over summer, wounding the former president in the ear. (FBI via AP)

America numb, political violence not satirical

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
September 2, 2024
An exam paper and six floating question marks rest under the word "Look Both Ways" and the topic of the week: standardized testing. Should standardized testing be eliminated or embraced? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: Standardized testing

By Santiago Montañez Bertoletti and Will Thiel
April 29, 2024
Jatavion Young, a sophomore middle level teaching major, responds to a street interviews prompt. What’s your plan if a goose attacks? (Northern Star Graphic)

Street Interviews: Goose attack

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 25, 2024
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a campaigning event on Sunday. Kennedy's campaign has no chance against Joe Biden and Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Kennedy’s running a doomed campaign

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 22, 2024
A magnifying glass zooms in on the TikTok logo, which is marked with a red X. The strongly opposed legislation aimed at prohibiting foreign adversary controlled applications would prove beneficial to national security. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | Northern Star Graphic)

TikTok regulation beneficial to national security

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 16, 2024
Two American flags and music notes rest under the words "Look Both Ways" and the topic of the week: playing the national anthem at sports events. Is the national anthem overplayed at sports events? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: National anthem at sports events

By Skyler Kisellus and Will Thiel
April 15, 2024
Siberian squill flowers burst up along the East Lagoon, filling a patch beneath the trees with bright blue. What’s your favorite spring smell? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Poll: What’s the best spring smell?

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 9, 2024
A voter casts their ballot at a polling station Tuesday in New York. Voting “uncommitted” in the November general election, as some voters did this primary season, would be a waste of a vote. (AP Photo | Seth Wenig)

Don’t vote ‘uncommitted’

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 2, 2024
Various silhouettes of women overlap in shades of purple. Women’s History Month comes to an end with March. (Courtesy of Getty Images)

Women’s History Month too politicized

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
April 1, 2024
A Supreme Court building and a voting ballot rest under the words “Look Both Ways” and the topic of the week: Trump on the primary ballot. Was the Supreme Court right to overrule Colorado’s expulsion of Trump from the state’s primary ballot? (Lucy Atkinson | Northern Star)

Look Both Ways: Trump on the primary ballot

By Camilla Dziadosz and Will Thiel
March 7, 2024
Donald Trump raises two fists at a campaign rally Saturday in Richmond, Virginia. Opinion Columnist Will Thiel is voting for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. (AP Photo | Steve Helber)

I’m voting for Trump, here’s why

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
March 3, 2024
Former president Donald Trump raises a fist on Feb. 24 at a primary election night party in Columbia, South Carolina. Opinion Columnist Will Thiel believes Trump’s recent controversial statements about NATO were justified. (AP Photo | Andrew Harnik)

Trump’s NATO remarks benefit America

By Will Thiel, Opinion Columnist
February 27, 2024
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