8
Monday, February 23, 2015
815-753-5606 H @NIUNorthernStar H NorthernStar.info/Opinion
Perspective
Northern Star 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 Circulation Manager: Andrew Parnell 815-753-0707
The Associated Press
Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his State of the Budget Address to a joint session of the General Assembly Wednesday in Springfield. The Northern Star Editorial Board wants NIU to communicate to the community what budget it will push for and what sacrifices it is willing to make.
NIU should keep community in loop with budget decisions Northern Star Editorial Board
NIU officials must work harder than ever before to ensure commuAdviser: Shelley Hendricks nity members know what budget 815-753-4239 NIU will push for it and what sacrifices it is willing to make in Business Adviser: Maria Krull 815-753-0707 the coming months. The state is debating Gov. Bruce Departments Rauner’s proposed $29 million cut Newsroom: 815-753-0105 to the funding Illinois gives NIU. Advertising: 815-753-0107 Classifieds: 815-753-0707 University officials will present a budget to the Legislature’s approAbout us priations committee in late March The Northern Star is a limited public forum whose content is determined exclu- and will “discuss with them the sively by its student editors. Information impact that these cuts will have on presented in this newspaper and its webNIU and our ability to achieve casite is not controlled by NIU administrareer success,” said Chief Financial tion, faculty or staff. Officer Alan Phillips. The Northern Star has a circulation of 10,000 Mondays and Thursdays. It The proposed cut will deeply publishes online at NorthernStar.info affect NIU and the quality of the every day. A single copy of the Northern Star is free. education it offers as there would be potential layoffs and less money Additional copies are 50 cents. for projects, among other things. Letters to the editor NIU must work to keep the comLetters should not exceed 300 words and munity informed and avoid confumay be edited for clarity and brevity. The sion and uncertainty. deadline for a letter is 4 p.m. one day before the desired date of publication. To do this, NIU should hold an Submissions may be held due to space open house before the commitlimitations. Letters written by students should include tee meeting so Phillips and NIU President Doug Baker can explain the author’s year and major. Letters should include a phone number where the how much money NIU will ask the author can be reached. Phone numbers will not be published. Letters may be submitted to Editor@NorthernStar.info.
Advertisement policy The Northern Star does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, handicapped or veteran status, or sexual orientation. Nor does the Northern Star knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws. To place an advertisement, contact the Northern Star advertising team at 815753-0108 or ads@NorthernStar.info. To view advertising rates, go to NorthernStar.info/site/advertise/. Hiring Student employees must carry a minimum of six NIU semester hours and must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. Students of all majors and experience levels are welcome to apply. Apply at www.NorthernStarJobs.info.
Budget cuts
State funding to NIU
To read the Northern Star article on proposed budget cuts, go to bit.ly/1DIGjCD.
$110 million Fiscal Year 2005: $102 million
Fiscal Year 2010: $107 million Proposed Fiscal Year 2016: $63 million
$55 million
Kelly Bauer | Northern Star
state for, what representatives will emphasize when talking about the impact of a budget cut and what they will be willing to cut. Students, faculty, staff and locals must be invited to attend, and the event must be publicized well so everyone can understand what’s at stake and why they need to care about participating in budget discussions. This open house would give community members a chance to
become informed, and they would be able to comment and ask questions so NIU receives feedback from the community. This strategy proved successful at the program prioritization process open house since it gave community members a voice in major decisions and an explanation for NIU’s actions. But, that’s not where the engagement between officials and community should end: Baker should
See what’s a pass and what’s a fail as judged by Perspective Editor Rachel Scaman.
Pass
use his weekly email report to update community members on the state of NIU’s budget and how conversations are going with the state. NIUToday.info, where the university issues news releases, can be used in a similar manner. The updates must continue even after the appropriations committee meeting since the Legislature and Rauner will undoubtedly battle over the budget for months. Every person in the NIU-DeKalb community has a stake in the university’s budget. Students rely on NIU for higher education and faculty and staff need it for employment, research and teaching. Even community members need NIU to be successful so surrounding businesses can thrive. NIU officials must recognize that and include everyone in budget discussions.
Fail
Awareness week bringing NIU closer
Bad weather cause social media craze
Activities for the ninth annual Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which started Sunday, will provide a chance for students to come together for a good cause. Eating disorders are no joke and it’s nice to know students who are struggling with them will have a chance to attend events that are aimed at helping them. Events, including Body Positive Meditation, noon to 1 p.m. today in the Campus Life Building with signs directing attendees, and Yoga for
I predict Twitter and Facebook blowing up with questions about classes being canceled since NIU meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said he doesn’t foresee warmer weather until March. I hate going to class when it’s freezing outside as much as the next person, but complaining on Twitter won’t help NIU make the decision to cancel classes. I’m sure @NIULive has enough with all the students asking if classes will be canceled due to weather
Every Body, 8-9 p.m. Wednesday in the Recreation Center, will be free and open to all. People are also encouraged to wear purple to show support for eating disorder recovery. I can’t wait to see all the purple on campus this week because it will show the students who are struggling with eating disorders they’re not alone. Go to bit.ly/1EkM8oF for a list of Eating Disorder Awareness Week events.
on Twitter. Some of the posts gave me a good laugh, but now they’re becoming more frequent and more of an annoyance. If classes get canceled because of the cold weather or snow, NIU will notify the students. Posting on Twitter or Facebook is not going to make a difference or speed up the university’s decision. Go to bit.ly/1MMoo0z to be notified by NIU when classes are canceled because of weather.