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Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016
Volume 117
Students bond to end stigma NIU students pair with disabled peers Sam Malone Staff writer
DeKALB | Junior dietetics major
Ashley Miller has always felt a connection to those with intellectual disabilities, and this year she decided to help those individuals by joining NIU’s chapter of the international Best Buddies program which has more volunteers than peer buddies this year. Best Buddies is a nonprofit program that allows volunteers to provide companionship to those with disabilities to end social stigmas associated with such disabilities. “When I started working with the program, [the chapter] was still very small, but we were able to just meet the numbers equally with college buddies and peer buddies,” said Jeff Chan, Best Buddies faculty adviser. “Then we just kind of steadily grew. We have had a lot of interest, and so the challenge has been accommodating so many students that are interested in the program.” College buddies are each paired with a peer buddy from the community who lives with an intellectual disability. College buddies provide community members with a friendship and connection to the world that they would not otherwise have, Chan said. Associate members plan and organize events for the buddies like the “Buddy Ball,” which Chan
described as a prom. Miller said she looks forward to organizing and being a part of events such as the Oct. 1 trip to Jonamac Orchard, 19412 Shabbona Road. “People with disabilities have always had a special place in my heart,” Miller said. “I’ve always wanted to help in any way I can and show support and be a friend, and I hope to impact other peoples’ lives.” The international initiative hopes to end isolation experienced by those with disabilities. NIU’s chapter promotes this initiative by participating in the “End the R-Word” campaign which raises awareness of this isolation.
Chan said he is amazed by the student dedication to the chapter that he has witnessed as the faculty adviser. He said the group this year seems excited. “From my standpoint, it’s really the time and effort that the students put in that’s the most impressive,” Chan said. “They take time through their evenings and on their weekends to devote to the chapter, and I think that’s really admirable.” Chan said having “too many volunteers” is never a bad thing, and they are working to pair two college buddies to one peer buddy in an attempt to accommodate everyone. Chan said volunteers will be
planning events like bowling and pizza nights to take their buddies to which will enable them to connect more. Miller said she is excited to have the opportunity to coordinate and participate in these events. “I think it’s important for the students here to get experience helping other people and not just themselves,” Miller said. “It’s important, and people don’t want to take the time to help. But why not start when you’re young and make an impact in someone else’s life and have them make an impact in yours, because they’re going to impact yours as well.”
Photo illustration by Andy Cozzi | Northern Star
Members of Best Buddies pose for a photo during their 2015 Best Buddies Friendship Walk. Best Buddies is a nonprofit program that allows volunteers to provide companionship to those with disabilities.
Male coaches break gender division Krystal Ward Staff writer
DeKALB | Of the nine women’s sports teams at NIU, five of them have a male head coach, six have at least one male assistant coach and four have at least one male volunteer coach. There are nine male assistant coaches and four volunteer assistant coaches for women’s sports teams. Three of the Adrian Myers male head Women’s cross country head coach coaches gave their perspective on some of the
differences and challenges that come with coaching the opposite sex. Adrian Myers, women’s cross country head coach and assistant track and field coach, began coaching males at 23 years old but has worked on and off with female athletes since 2011 when he coached the Indiana Invaders National, an Olympic Development Program, and collegiate athletes at Marian University. Myers’ first time working exclusively with females came when he became a coach at NIU in June 2015. “To be completely honest, I think you identify with [the same sex] at first and then in my case, you start gravitating towards the other one,”
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Myers said. “As a young coach, you gravitate towards what you’re most comfortable with.” Myers said male athletes want immediate credibility from their coach and the coaches have to work a little harder to ensure the athlete buys into what they are saying, whereas a female athlete will accept a coach with less credibility, and comes in and immediately shows they care for each individual. Myers said the ability to cultivate confidence in female athletes is one of the hardest things to do in his profession. “Men, a lot of times to a fault, might be overly confident,” Myers said. “The guy who is seventh
string quarterback on the football team is going to play in the NFL. That’s [a man’s] thought. Women, on the other end of the spectrum at times, might be one of your top athletes and maybe think they aren’t as good as they really are.” Myers credits his wife and daughter for teaching him about working with females more than any book or mentor could. Once Myers had a female athlete tutoring his daughter. When he asked the athlete how much he should pay her for helping his daughter, the athlete said to pay her whatever he wanted. Myers then told his wife.
Read Coaching | Page 10
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Issue 11
911 service waiting on restoration
Northern Star staff
DeKALB | NIU and DeKalb, Sycamore, Boone, Stephenson and Ogle counties have been functioning without a normal operating 911 emergency phone service since Tuesday, as of 12:12 a.m. today. “If someone were to call 911, they would be routed to the appropriate police agency at this point,” said Don Rodman, NIU Commander of Police Operations. “If they call the emergency number, they would speak to one of our dispatchers. It would be Don Rodman the same thing NIU Commander of if they for some Police Operations reason call 911, they would get our dispatcher again based on the proximity of where they are on campus.” 911 is operating correctly, however, it is not providing the caller’s name and address like it should because of an issue with Frontier Communications Corportation’s infrastructure which provides phone services in the area. The difference between 911 calls and non-emergency calls is the dispatcher will not answer “911, what’s your emergency?” because the call will be routed to the non-emergency service. “[Campus emergency towers] were not affected by this; they were fully operational,” Rodman said. The Campus Emergency Towers offer prompt NIU police assistance with the push of a button that goes through a separate system from the 911 system. “We’re hoping to have [the 911 emergency service] back up and running by the end of [Sept. 21],” Rodman said.
Emergency calls The 911 emergency phone service is being repaired, as of 12:12 a.m. Thursday. When calling 911, be prepared to provide operators with: - Name - Address - Other pertinent information
“Snowden” struggles in sales
Opinion: The movie “Snowden” didn’t receive the attention it deserved at the box office during its Sept. 16 debut hitting fourth in ticket sales at $8 million. Read more on Page 6.