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Northern Star

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Open mindedness leads to success

By Cody Laplante | April 1, 2013

It’s 8 a.m. and you are sitting in your most boring general education lecture class. As the professor drones on, your mind wanders to various subjects of little relevance. When you realize you don’t know what the professor is talking about, you say...

Class habits mirror the game of BINGO

Class habits mirror the game of BINGO

By Cody Laplante | March 24, 2013

I have increasingly noticed how little attention is paid to professors in those large lecture classes. With this in mind, I decided to play a little game of Bingo. Not normal Bingo, though--an adaptation of the classic game for a college lecture class...

There are many advanages of public schooling

By Cody Laplante | March 24, 2013

When a child is ready to start school, his or her parents have many options in regard to where he or she is going to go: Public, private, charter, voucher, home-schooling--oh my gosh, it is too much. In my opinion, I think there is one option with the...

‘Conversation and Cappuccino’ triggers educational dialogue

By Cody Laplante | March 18, 2013

As a perspective columnist, opinion is a big part of my job. However, I realize the importance of hearing other peoples’ opinions on current issues as well as my own. For months now, I have been aching to hear what someone else has to say about current...

Tenure a misunderstood tool for protecting teachers

By Cody Laplante | March 10, 2013

When it comes to education, one issue in particular comes to everyone’s minds: tenure. Whether you are in support or in opposition to tenure, people have very strong opinions of this process, which is said to protect bad teachers. However, the simple...

How well do you know NIU?

How well do you know NIU?

By Cody Laplante | March 6, 2013

It was just last week that I was walking back from class and at noon when I heard the church bells, keen to alert the campus of the hour. After 12 strikes, the bells started a song and it one I could not place. I knew I had heard it before, but what song...

Sexual education is a needed conversation in schools

By Cody Laplante | March 3, 2013

Health class. I don’t know about you, but those two words bring me back to scenes of an overcrowded classroom as a teacher leads discussions on exercise, drugs and--of course--sex. According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, 22 states...

Special education system needs improvement

By Cody Laplante | February 24, 2013

There are two things wrong with special education: It’s not special and it’s not education. What I mean by that is our special ed programs need work. Although many may come up with causes and solutions, touting facts and statistics, I believe that...

General education classes are pointless

General education classes are pointless

By Cody Laplante | February 20, 2013

COMS 100, ENGL 103, MATH 109: the dreaded courses first assigned to every freshman entering the gates of NIU. I think it is safe to assume there is not a single person on this campus that has not once thought something along the lines of, “Why do I...

End educational stereotypes

By Cody Laplante | February 17, 2013

The numbers do not add up. According to the The Schott Foundation for Public Education, in 2008, the graduation rate for black male students was 47 percent in the U.S., whereas the rate for white male students was 78 percent. In a nation that promotes...

College can be educational and fun, too

College can be educational and fun, too

By Cody Laplante | February 17, 2013

NIU: an institution of esteemed learning and scholarly pursuits where students with large minds work tirelessly towrad the larger goal of receiving a degree. This is the classic view of American higher education, and for many students that may be a reality....

Budget cuts only disappoints Huskie Bus riders

Budget cuts only disappoints Huskie Bus riders

By Cody Laplante | February 12, 2013

We’ve all been there: at the bus stop, the wind blowing, the temperature dropping, the clock slowly showing that you are late for class and the bus is no where in sight. And when the bus does come, your relief is short-lived as you cram yourself between...