NIU Today

Lexie Williams, a senior public health and university honors student, is conducting a survey among all of our students to determine the extent to which they are experiencing not having enough healthy foods available or accessible to them. The results of the survey will be shared with appropriate NIU campus organizations but will be reported in an aggregate form, with no identification of individual students, and may be used to improve student services in the future. The survey results and your participation are confidential and the research project has been approved as “expedited” by the NIU Institutional Review Board (IRB).

By taking the survey, you will become better aware of your own levels of food security and learn about resources that can be of assistance to improve your diet and health.

All students – undergraduate, graduate and anyone taking classes at NIU – who participate in the survey by Friday, April 14, 2017 will be entered into a drawing for many chances to win a grocery bag worth $50, $75 or $100 of groceries.

Contact Lexie Williams at Z1671601@students.niu.edu or Kristen Borre, faculty research advisor, at kborre@niu.edu.

NIU geology professors Ross Powell and Reed Scherer will be participating in a panel discussion this weekend during Batavia’s 9th annual A Green Night Out at the Movies.

Presented by the Batavia Environmental Commission (BEC) and Confident Aire, the event is free and open to the public. It will feature the documentary film “The Wisdom to Survive,” free popcorn and drinks, an expo of local eco-groups and businesses, and a lively discussion about climate change.

The event takes place from 6 – 10 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at 100 N. Island Ave., Batavia.

“The Wisdom to Survive” accepts the consensus of scientists that climate change has already arrived and asks, “What is keeping us from action?” The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics and spirituality, discussing how people can take action in the face of climate disruption.

Following the movie, Emma Cole of the Batavia Environmental Commission will moderate the panel discussion.

Powell and Scherer are each Board of Trustees Professors at NIU who are internationally respected for their research related to past and ongoing changes in the world’s ice sheets. Other panelists include climate activists Earl Silbar and Deni Mathews.

More information on the event and local “green happenings” is available on the BEC’s Facebook page.

Beginning this year, the Field Museum installed a new Philippine exhibit comprising some of the 10,000 Philippine objects once tucked behind museum vaults for decades. It has been more than 15 years since a Philippine collection exhibit was displayed at the museum. Recent NIU master in anthropology, Laurence Tumpag was asked during the co-curation and object selection process to contribute information for the lin-lingo neck ornament, one of the five objects exhibited, based on his knowledge as a Filipino-American, scholar, and life-long collector and curator of Southeast Asian material culture. The installation, located at the entrance of the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific, will be up throughout 2017 and will soon feature a digital rail enabling the museum to incorporate more information regarding the objects, co-curation and the Philippines based on feedback they are gaining in collaboration with the Filipino community.

Tumpag holding personal collection next to Philippine exhibit

According to Tumpag, “This is an exciting time for Filipinos in the U.S. to get involved with museums because exhibits, and the Field Museum’s associated co-curation programming known as the Pamanang Pinoy series, is giving us an additional platform to have our voices heard and our presence and experiences known in this country.” Tumpag sees members of his community taking active roles reconnecting with these objects and one another as they interpret their heritage, histories and identities together in the museum space. Filipinos across the diaspora and people of different ethnicities and backgrounds interested in the Philippine collection have traveled near and far to engage in object storytelling and community-museum partnership. “It’s amazing seeing a diverse group of people gathered together to celebrate heritage,” he states.

The Pamanang Pinoy series also facilitates dialogue on a wide range of cultural and socially relevant topics. At a past event focusing on “Gendered Objects,” Tumpag spoke as part of a diverse panel of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans discussing how they are navigating their gender identities as various artifacts served to facilitate the dialogue. Tumpag framed his talk around the lin-lingo saying its symbolic form can help remind his community how their ancestors thought of gender in a much wider and inclusive spectrum than is viewed by today’s society.

At NIU, the Donn V. Hart Southeast Asia Collection in collaboration with the Asian American Resource Center is giving Tumpag the opportunity to expand on the lin-lingo object he helped to feature at the Field. This March, Tumpag will curate an exhibit on the 4th floor of Founders Memorial Library highlighting many variations of this symbol that exist throughout Southeast Asia due in part to precolonial trade networks. The exhibit hopes to speak about the symbol’s cultural significance for different ethnic groups and the new meanings and interpretations people of the region attribute to the symbol in contemporary times.

Budget and Finance has begun planning for the fiscal year 2017 financial close, scheduled for Friday, July 14. The cooperation of all departments is needed to keep to this schedule. Key dates to report our year-end data are as follows:

On Monday, April 3, Notification of all purchase order rollovers and accruals to Procurement Services is due. Friday, June 16, is the year-end cutoff date for posting any activity prior to June. On Friday, July 14, all FY2017 approved invoices, check requests and travel reimbursement requests need to be to Accounts Payable Services. Note that July 14 is also the year-end cutoff date for posting any June activity.

Reminder emails will be sent throughout the period beginning the week of March 13 through June 2. Accounts Payable Services and Procurement Services team members will contact those who may need assistance with invoice approvals and/or rollovers. Both departments will also send notices to vendors in early May to send their invoices in time to meet the July 14 date.

Your cooperation is important to ensure the success of the FY17 financial close process.

Students entering grades 2 through 12 who are looking for engaging, hands-on ways to explore their interests and career options this summer can now register for Northern Illinois University’s 2017 summer camps.

Day and residential camps run throughout June, July and August. The schedule includes both time-tested favorites and exciting new offerings from programs across the NIU community. With options in science and technology, visual arts, music performance, theater, TV broadcasting and sports, every young learner will definitely find something to spark their interest.

A full schedule is available online. Log on today to make sure that you reserve a spot for your top choice. Several camps offer both merit- and need-based scholarships. Some camps also offer discounts for early-bird registration, children of NIU employees, returning campers or families who enroll multiple children.

Young creative writers, filmmakers and public speakers will be particularly interested in this year’s offerings from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“Our camps immerse students in every step of the creative process from brainstorming to planning to final edits and revisions,” says Mark Pietrowski, acting director of the college’s External Programming office. “That’s why kids love them so much. They learn how to make things and express themselves. Along the way, some of them catch a glimpse of a future career.”

For jazz musicians, stage actors and visual artists, the College of Visual and Performing Arts is offering its usual roster of residential camps that help students polish their art through intensive, daily practice guided by experts.

Students looking to explore a passion for science, technology, engineering or math can choose from an array of STEM-related camps. Students entering grades 7-9 can choose from art, chemistry, coding, electricity and magnetism, LEGO Robotics, photography, sci-fi, survival, video games and WaterBotics.

“These camps always sell out quickly,” says Jeremy Benson, Director of STEM Summer Camps. “We have campers who enjoy camp so much that they come back multiple times. Some of them worked through several tracks and wanted more, so we made more. We want as many people as possible to find their STEM passion.”

Even the youngest students can have a summer STEM experience. The STEM Juniors day camp will offer project-based STEM activities including electrical circuit design and 3D printing for students entering grades 2-5. The STEM Divas day camp includes similar activities with an additional focus on helping female students embrace empowering STEM skills.

For students whose primary tech passion lies in video games, NIU’s Digital Convergence Lab offers a series of game design camps with options for all levels of computer coding experience.

Students entering grades 10-12 who attend STEM Career Exploration camps get to pick a professional field that interests them the most, whether it’s coding, earth and space sciences, engineering, health, life sciences, physical sciences or video games. Campers will learn about the different jobs in these fields through hands-on experiences. 

At the Athletic Training and Sports Medicine overnight camp (July 9-12), students learn what it takes to help athletes succeed.

“Most students at our Sports Medicine camp go on to study athletic training in college and become certified athletic trainers,” says Sue Hansfield, assistant director of Athletics.

A similar professional focus is at the forefront of the Hospitality Leadership Camp (June 14-16) and gives high school students an introduction to the hospitality industry including travel and tourism, the hotel industry, and restaurant and event management. Through work with NIU professors and trips to local restaurants and hotels, campers will learn about this career landscape.

Students drawn to the fashion industry from forecasting trends to crafting marketing plans can sign up for the new Fashion Studio Camp (June 27-29) with classes led by NIU’s Fashion Merchandising Faculty.

Don’t delay, sign your child up for NIU’s 2017 summer camps!

The NIU Community School of the Arts (CSA) needs your used sheet music, music books, old musical instruments, stands, CDs and other items that might be of interest to musicians. Clean out your piano bench, attics, and basements, and donate to a great cause. Your unwanted music items will be sold during Performathon to raise money for scholarships.

Held every two years, Performathon is the major fund-raising event of the CSA. The funds raised support CSA scholarship programs, which help enable families unable to afford the full cost of arts education to enroll children in music lessons, music ensembles, or classes in music, art, or theatre. Since the CSA scholarship programs began in 1993, it has raised more than $100,000, and nearly 800 students have received scholarship assistance.

Performathon is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, in the Boutell Concert Hall and lobby of the NIU Music Building. In addition to the Incredible Music Swap, Performathon features live music, a raffle, café-style bake sale, art and photo exhibit, and more!

The CSA is sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts. More than 50 teachers offer lessons on virtually all musical instruments, as well as art and theatre. More than 400 community people from nearly 40 towns and cities travel to DeKalb for lessons, classes and music ensembles every semester.

Bring your items to Room 132 at the NIU Music Building between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or contact the office at 815-753-1450 to arrange for pickup of the items.

First- and Second-Year Experience will be hosting Huskies Get Connected appointments during the Academic Career Expo on Wednesday, March 22.

Huskies Get Connected (HGC) is an opportunity for students to attend a one-on-one consultation with a knowledgeable peer to help them discover ways to get connected that are personally meaningful. HGC peer consultants can help students find their place on campus whether it be through involvement in student organization or clubs, campus employment, attending campus events, mentorship opportunities, service/research opportunities or helping them understand how to navigate campus resources.

HGC consultants provide students with a plan that fits their goals, a folder of materials specifically tailored to them and offer advice to students on discovering career interests through involvement.

Faculty and staff are invited to encourage students to sign up for a 30-minute HGC appointment at the Academic Career Expo which will give students the chance to browse the fair and also meet with an HGC consultant.

Students can sign-up for an HGC spot at the career expo, or, if they are unable to attend the fair, can also sign up for an individual HGC appointment.

Contact FSYE with any questions at fsye@niu.edu or 815-753-0028.

This year, the annual Better Together NIU Faculty/Staff Giving Campaign will run Monday, March 20, through Friday, March 31. This two-week campaign is part of the NIU Foundation’s annual giving program and provides all faculty and staff the opportunity to make a gift to an area on campus that is important to them.

We recognize this is an unusual moment to be asking for donations given the difficult times that our state and university are facing. While the situation with the state budget has affected our faculty and staff, it has affected many of our students as well. At a time when nearly 84 percent of our students receive some form of financial aid, there has never been a greater time for us to come together and show our commitment to them! 

In recognition of that, we are asking that you consider renewing your commitment to the area(s) on campus you have generously supported in the past. If you have not made a previous gift, we are asking that you consider making a gift to the Huskie Food Pantry during the campaign period. 

Since the opening of the pantry, it has served more than 3,000 unique users. As the pantry continues its outreach efforts, research has shown this number may increase dramatically. Research estimates there could be as many as 7,000 NIU students, or 35 percent of the student population, experiencing food insecurity.

Over the course of a year, a donation of $5 per pay period would feed 50 students for a week, while $10 per pay period would fund the Huskie Food Pantry’s food costs for an entire week.

In the coming weeks, you will receive an email with more information about how to make your gift to the campaign. If you are a current or previous donor, you will also receive a packet of information via campus mail. If you have questions about the Better Together NIU Faculty/Staff Giving Campaign or the annual giving program, please email the annual giving team at northernfund@niu.edu.

Thank you for your continued support of NIU students.

In an average year, Illinois gets hit with more than 60 tornadoes, placing it consistently in the top 10 states with the most tornadoes.

The odds of one or more tornadoes hitting a portion of DeKalb County is at least one in three, every year. We also get 60 mile-per-hour winds or hail an inch or more in diameter roughly twice a year. And then there’s flooding – the university was forced to shut down for most of a Friday in August 2007, when flash floods made many roads impassable.

The governor has declared the week of March 5, Severe Weather Preparedness Week in the state of Illinois. At 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, all K-12 schools in the state will participate in a statewide tornado drill. At that time, all NOAA weather radios will give a test tornado warning, outdoor warning sirens will go off statewide, and cable TV and media may interrupt programming to test tornado warning broadcasts. At that time, think about where you would go in the event of a tornado here at NIU or where you live so that you can protect yourself when severe weather occurs.

Nearly every NIU building has designated shelter locations. You can find them by clicking “Maps” on the NIU app and selecting “Public Safety” from the drop-down menu. Clicking on tornado symbols will show you tornado shelters all over campus. On a computer, visit www.niu.edu/visit/maps/interactivemap and click on “Public Safety” in the drop-down menu to see where exactly where to go in the event of a tornado warning. Please take the time to review how you might best reach shelter from locations you frequent across the campus.

In the case of a power failure, the university has redundant methods to alert staff and students of weather emergencies. More than 300 weather radios are distributed across campus. These radios broadcast warnings received from the National Weather Service. Emergency text messages and emails will be sent as well, and you can subscribe to personalized weather alerts by going to weather.admin.niu.edu,  clicking on “campus weather safety” from the left menu bar, and then “subscribe to weather alerts.” Weather alerts will display on that website in real time as well.

Smartphones can alert for tornado warnings through cellular service providers; make sure those alerts are turned on. An Emergency Notification System is available in many buildings on campus to alert faculty and students of dangerous weather and other hazards. Campus cable channel 35 will broadcast the warning and it will crawl across the bottom of the screen. Also, the city of DeKalb will activate its outdoor sirens when a National Weather Service tornado warning is issued and reflects an immediate threat or if a tornado is sighted by trained weather spotters.

NIU faculty, staff, students and guests can decide which alert option they prefer. To learn more about how we keep students safe at NIU during severe weather, visit http://weather.admin.niu.edu or follow NIU Weather on Facebook and Twitter.

Few can forget the famous Aretha Franklin song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Engage in a lively, interactive workshop where you will learn how collegiality relates to respect, how workplace bullying can affect the team and gain knowledge on how to help create a more respectful workplace.

Two sessions will be facilitated by Rose M.J. Henton, director of Coordinated Education, Training and Outreach Programs. All are welcome to attend.

The first workshop is on Thursday, March 9, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., at the Chick Evans Field House, Room 128. The second workshop will be on Wednesday, March 15, from 2:30 to 4 p.m., at Human Resource Services, 1515 W. Lincoln Hwy., Room 100.

The same session will be held on both days, so please attend the one that best fits your schedule.

RSVP to aaec_training@niu.edu with the word “Respect” in the subject line.

On NIU’s campus, recycling has become a crucial aspect of our waste diversion program. By implementing a co-mingled or single-stream recycling system, students, staff and faculty members at NIU can recycle waste with ease. Any acceptable recyclable material can be deposited in any recycling bin without having to take the time to separate different types of materials. Recycling bins are widely distributed across campus for the convenience of students, staff and faculty members.

A wide variety of recyclable items are accepted in the recycling bins throughout NIU’s campus. All plastics labeled numbers 1-7 are acceptable materials. However, no plastic film (such as shopping bags) or polystyrene (better known as Styrofoam) can be discarded in the bins.

Recyclables do not have to be cleaned prior to being deposited in the receptacles, but they must be free of any liquids or food waste. It is important to note that cardboard food containers, like pizza boxes, are recyclable as long as they are not greasy. In situations where only a portion of the container is greasy, the soiled part of the container should be removed and the rest should be deposited in the recycling bins.

Recycling is an important factor in promoting sustainability at NIU as it helps us lower our environmental footprint. With so much paper, cardboard, plastics and other recyclable objects being used throughout campus, it is critical that these items are recycled rather than sent to a landfill.

In 2016 alone, NIU diverted nearly 570 tons, or over 1 million pounds, of waste through our current recycling efforts. Because NIU has encouraged recycling rates by having a single stream recycling system and convenient receptacle locations, it is likely that our percentage of waste diversion will only continue to increase.

For more information on recycling at NIU, see the comprehensive list of what are and are not acceptable recyclable materials. 

Have you ever considered taking a Japanese course, but was not sure what to expect? Did you grow up playing Super Mario Bros. and ever wonder what the hidden meaning behind a bizarre character was? Come and find the answer from our newly established Japanese Language and Culture Club (JLCC). The club was established during the fall 2016 academic term and they are getting more active as their membership grows.

The club was originated by the students who are currently taking Japanese courses in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Particularly, students from the Foreign Language Residency Program played an important role. Then the former students joined, and then Japanese students from ESL Center joined and it seems that there is a new member every day! Their main method of communication is by LINE, an app very popular in Japan. It fits the busy students’ lifestyle, as they can stay connected even if they missed their regular meeting on Fridays. The club currently has around 16 core members.

Their kick-off activity was, of course, rolling sushi. Those who had tasted sushi before but had never rolled one themselves were thrilled to give it a try. They have also started building the bridge across the campus, by participating in the language exchange hosted by the ESL center. Students, who were trying to increase more opportunity to learn about Japan and practice their Japanese, were finally united as this club. They dream about visiting Japan in the future.

For their most recent activity, President James Nguyen, Treasurer Malee Masuda and a member Alex Arsenty participated as volunteers at a community event held at University Village Apartments Community Center hosted by Immanuel Lutheran Church. Members showed children how to write their names in Katakana, how to count in Japanese and participated in Japanese games such as fukuwarai, a Japanese rendition of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” game.

Together with the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the Foreign Language Residency Program, the JLCC is looking forward to more opportunities to expand their activities not only to fulfill their interest but to reach out to the community. By learning a foreign language, you can broaden your perspective, make new friends and find beauty in differences. The club also offers tutoring for beginner Japanese (101 and 102 classes) and welcomes new members who are interested in anything about Japan. For more information and if interested, please contact James by email at niujlctutor@gmail.com.