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Monday, May 4, 2015
Northern Star
815-753-5606 H @NIUNorthernStar H NorthernStar.info/Opinion
Perspective
Founders Memorial Library should be open 24/7 for students to study
Campus Life Building, Room 130 545 Lucinda Ave. DeKalb, Ill., 60115 Web: www.NorthernStar.info Fax: 815-753-0708 Editorial Board Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board; columns reflect the opinion of the author alone. Editor in Chief & Publisher: Kelly Bauer Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0105 Managing Editor: Keith Hernandez Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0177 News Editor: Jackie Nevarez Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9643 Digital Editor: Margaret Maka Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9644 Perspective Editor: Rachel Scaman Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9637 Sports Editor: Frank Gogola Sports@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9637 Scene Editor: Sabreena Saleem Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-5606 Photo Editor: Ryan Ocasio Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-1602 Other Assistant Scene Editor: Darius Parker 815-753-5606 Advertising Manager: Derek Noel Ads@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0108
Faith Mellenthin | Northern Star
Editor in chief: time at Star will stay with me
Circulation Manager: Andrew Parnell 815-753-0707 Adviser: Shelley Hendricks 815-753-4239 Business Adviser: Maria Krull 815-753-0707
Kelly Bauer Editor in chief T @BauerJournalism
If I’d had the money to attend Mizzou, I would have. That would have been an incalculable mistake. When I first came to NIU, I saw my enrollment as a failure. About us I was accepted into Mizzou and The Northern Star is a limited public forum whose content is determined exclu- was automatically admitted to sively by its student editors. Information the school’s journalism program, presented in this newspaper and its weban honor given to freshmen who site is not controlled by NIU administrahave high ACT scores. It was tion, faculty or staff. my dream school because of its The Northern Star has a circulation of 10,000 Mondays and Thursdays. It reputation for journalistic excelpublishes online at NorthernStar.info lence, something which appealed every day. A single copy of the Northern Star is free. to a high school senior who hoped (and still hopes) to work as Additional copies are 50 cents. a war correspondent and editor. Letters to the editor NIU was my backup school, and Letters should not exceed 300 words and I didn’t concede that I and my may be edited for clarity and brevity. The family didn’t have the money for deadline for a letter is 4 p.m. one day before the desired date of publication. Mizzou until a few days before Submissions may be held due to space classes began in DeKalb. limitations. I wanted the bragging rights of Letters written by students should include Mizzou because I had no idea who the author’s year and major. Letters should include a phone number where the I could become through work at author can be reached. Phone numbers the Northern Star. None of us do. will not be published. Letters may be My skills as a journalist have submitted to Editor@NorthernStar.info. grown at the Star, yes: I am a Advertisement policy stronger writer, including more The Northern Star does not knowingly ac- unbiased analysis and context in cept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, handicapped my stories; I write quicker, beating the Daily Chronicle to breaking or veteran status, or sexual orientation. Nor does the Northern Star knowingly news; I manage people more comprint ads that violate any local, state or fortably; I can organize projects federal laws. and I can go toe to toe with any To place an advertisement, contact the administrator who tries to reject a Northern Star advertising team at 815753-0108 or ads@NorthernStar.info. FOIA request. To view advertising rates, go to But, the Northern Star has NorthernStar.info/site/advertise/. also taught me what it is to fail and pick myself up, to see Hiring Student employees must carry a minimum potential in younger journalists of six NIU semester hours and must have and plan how I can help them a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. succeed, to use my passion to Students of all majors and experience inspire others and to use my levels are welcome to apply. Apply at www.NorthernStarJobs.info. experience to teach them. Departments Newsroom: 815-753-0105 Advertising: 815-753-0107 Classifieds: 815-753-0707
First year My first year as editor at the Northern Star — when I was a sophomore in 2012-13 — was relatively easy: University scandals and news fell into my lap, and the Star staff picked up writing, design and general excellence awards as if that was our job. I debated with administrators and consulted with lawyers as we considered a lawsuit over unanswered FOIA requests. At the time, I thought my battles to investigate and seek answers were the greatest challenges I could face.
Second and third year My second and third years as editor in chief have proven otherwise. The newspaper industry’s financial troubles, to which the Star is not immune, have kept me up late at night. I constantly wondered what I had to do to help the Star remain financially stable, independent and a training ground for young journalists. Instead of focusing on the bad, we worked on the good: The staff organized a major revamp of the newsroom so we could better serve the interests and habits of our readers, and this spring the Star moved to printing twice a week while publishing online 24/7 as part of those changes. The number of people reading the Star has grown tremendously, and the staff is now more prepared for the digital-focused newsrooms we’ll encounter. I’ve gained more than technical knowledge from the Star, though. In October 2013, an alumnus held me down, attempted to remove my clothes, kissed me and groped me. He didn’t stop when I told him to — in fact, the only thing that ended the assault was a phone call from a Star editor telling me about breaking news. I felt powerless and was ashamed to reach out to alumni or current staff members, my closest friends,
because I thought they would be upset to hear me talk about what he did. I feared they would see me as powerless, would think I was a weak person, a poor editor in chief. I was certain they would think I was lying or trying to seek attention. But, seeing my distress, the staff reached out to me. Their strength and care helped me open up, and from them I learned strength isn’t silence in the face of pain or always guiding the staff to success. Strength is an ability to be present, to listen and care during tough times and to work, even if it’s against the odds, to overcome the insurmountable. Lessons learned It’s easy to be a leader when times are good. It’s far different when things are challenging: People have looked to me for answers and guidance, and being the bearer of bad news wasn’t the most enjoyable task. But, I’ve grown from the girl who wanted to brag to employers that she’d gone to Mizzou. I’m someone who wants to be a journalist of the Northern Star variety: I want to slog through the tough news. I want to investigate and find the inequalities and errors. I don’t want stories and easy awards to fall into my lap. I’m strong for my staff when giving them bad news, and we work together to find solutions and make things better for future Star kids. I don’t think these are lessons I could have learned at any other college newspaper, and I wouldn’t be the person I am if I had worked anywhere else. The Northern Star doesn’t coddle anyone. We’re a tough crew and we’ve got a chip on our shoulders, but every editor is dedicated to passing down his or her skills, experiences and strength to the next generation of Star kids. I’ll carry what I’ve learned here into my next job. The Northern Star will stay with me forever.
See what’s a pass and what’s a fail as judged by Perspective Editor Rachel Scaman.
Pass
SA President plans good start to year Student Association President Nathan Lupstein’s plans for next semester will help students get more involved with the SA, which is something to push for. Lupstein said his ticket will look to create an app to allow students to voice ideas and find answers to questions about the SA. This app will allow students to get information on the SA and submit questions or concerns. Having the SA app connected with the NIU app will let the students know the SA is an available resource on campus. I think having an app can also improve voter turnout if the SA has plans to incorporate the app with online voting. I’m excited to see what comes from the app.
Fail
Moving SA election confusing, not good Moving the Student Association Senate elections to the spring to coincide with the executive elections seems like it’ll be a lot for students to take in. The SA Senate will move its election from the fall semester to the spring to increase voter turnout. If SA Senate elections are around the same time as the executive elections, students can get overwhelmed with the amount of candidates. I think having one election in the spring and one in the fall will give students time to get to know all the candidates and give them time to make their decision. There are many candidates who compete in the elections and having them both during the same semester can be confusing for some students.