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Monday, February 2, 2015
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NIU being helped with enrollment: town hall Jackie Nevarez News Editor T @NevarezJackie
Kathleen Albano | Northern Star
Sycamore students dressed up in togas draped with black and gold to cheer on their basketball team during the Castle Challenge varsity game Friday at the Convocation Center. DeKalb basketball won that match, 43-24, but the schools raised about $59,000 to be divided among their booster clubs.
Castle Challenge raises $59K Basketball match ‘all about unity’ Rosie Villegas Staff writer
DeKalb | Friday’s 15th annual Castle Challenge concluded with a win for Sycamore women’s basketball, DeKalb men’s basketball and $59,000 for the schools to split. Castle Bank pairs up with NIU and local and national organizations to support the DeKalb High School and Sycamore High School booster clubs. The two high schools participate in friendly competition with football in the fall and basketball in the winter. A crowd gathered in the Convocation Center as the event began with the women’s varsity team of Sycamore High School beating DeKalb High School with a score of 55-24, followed by a DeKalb men’s varsity win over Sycamore, 43-24.
Kathleen Albano | Northern Star
Sycamore junior Tyler Maveus (15) and DeKalb sophomore Cole Tucker (11) run up on the court during Friday’s Castle Challenge in the Convocation Center. The event raised about $59,000 to be split among the schools’ booster clubs.
The rivalry was evident, as the white and gold, toga-sporting Sycamore students and neon-orangedressed DeKalb students cheered their teams on as their schools’ mascots, along with NIU’s Victor E. Huskie, taunted one another in
front of the crowd. Scott Heimosh, DeKalb High School cheerleader, said he was excited for the challenge and said a lot of preparation went into the event. During halftime of the men’s game, the schools’ dance
teams performed and the grand reveal of $59,000 raised was made, with $29,500 being given to each school’s booster club. Tracy Harris, a DeKalb High School booster club member, said the Castle Challenge game is of great importance to the DeKalb and Sycamore communities. “This event takes place to bring the DeKalb, Sycamore and NIU community together,” Harris said. “We prepare for weeks for the social event that brings everyone together. It is all about unity.” NIU fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa volunteered at the Castle Challenge, their philanthropy. Members ran challenge zone games for kids as well as bounce houses. Aaron Vazquez, sophomore business management major and Phi Sigma Kappa member, said it was great to be a part of an event that unifies the community.
DeKalb | NIU President Doug Baker hosted two town hall meetings Thursday to talk about recruitment, retention and program prioritization. Retention decreased by 1.2 percent to 87 percent between the fall and spring semesters, with enrollment dropping to 19,000, a 2.6 decrease Doug Baker from a year ago. NIU President Baker said consulting group Lipman Hearne has aided Enrollment Management by working on recruitment and enrollment methods. Most recently, the consulting group’s advice to email former NIU inquirers, applicants and students has resulted in 24 students enrolling this spring. Anne Birberick, vice provost of Academic Affairs, said MAP-Works surveys have served to identify issues students are facing. The surveys are used by the university to give firstyear students resources to help them transition into college. A town hall attendee asked if the MAP-Works could be expanded to upperclassmen and Birberick said NIU first needs to get more students to take the survey. Provost Lisa Freeman said prioritization, the process of bringing university programs within NIU’s mission and vision, will honor employee contracts and allow students to graduate with whichever academic program they are a part of. Freeman said there are no “sacred cows,” meaning prioritization will not favor any programs when it comes to evaluating programs with specific criteria.
Read more Program prioritization: bit. ly/18EAyso Enrollment: bit.ly/1CE5Drd Tweets from town hall meetings: bit.ly/1BMYeVe
Star Worlds celebrates 30 years with party for fans Alex Chettiath Staff writer
DeKalb | Star Worlds Arcade, 1234 E. Lincoln Highway, celebrated 30 years with local officials and record-holders Saturday. The celebration was an event that brought in players from throughout Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. An employee since 1988, Michelle Brennan said the arcade’s success comes from word of mouth and roots in the community. “Parents come in with their kids and stay for the memories,” Brennan said. The event gave guests unlimited play on videogames and pinball, food and drink, door prizes and entry into an arcade contest that challenged participants’ skills in arcade game “Q*Bert.” Fourth ward Alderman
Bob Snow said Saturday’s party was his first time at Star Worlds, and he attended after he heard about the event from his neighbor. Walter Day, a Guinness World Record record-keeper and recurrent gamer at Star Worlds, said the arcade is an international shrine to gaming. It’s “the last great neighborhood arcade,” Day said. “The other 100,000 have closed.” The most recent game to gain a spot in the arcade’s rotation is “Pop’n Music,” which is similar to “Dance Dance Revolution” but is controlled by the hands as opposed to the feet. The game is from Japan and no other arcade in the area has one, arcade owner Patrick O’Malley said. Along with passion, O’Malley said he puts in hours of endless work at the arcade: cleaning, repairing and
If you go What: Star Worlds Arcade When: 3-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 3-11 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m. Sundays Where: 1234 E. Lincoln Highway Web: StarWorldsArcade.com selling to allow the arcade to stay “fresh.” About 700 games have gone through O’Malley’s hands to get a spot in the Star Worlds Arcade rotation or to be sold. O’Malley credits his success to his customers and said Star Worlds will never be a ticket redemption arcade. Kelsey Brown | Northern Star “The payoff is the happiness Jeff Ramsey, of Iowa City, Iowa, plays a vintage arcade game Saturday at Star of the players, not the money,” Worlds Arcade, 1234 E. Lincoln Highway. Ramsey and his brother traveled from Iowa to DeKalb to celebrate Star World’s 30th Anniversary. O’Malley said.