NIU Today

While popular discourse about migration to the U.S. from Central America focuses on economic drivers and violence, there are false narratives that turn asylum seekers and refugees into criminals. What are the realities of those most affected by changes in immigration policy? And what has been the impact since the November 2016 election?

Join the Pick Museum of Anthropology at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, in Cole Hall’s room 100 for a panel discussion by photojournalist James Rodriguez, Curators without Borders director Heidi McKinnon, NIU immigration attorney Anita Maddali and NIU alumna and activist Sara Briseño to delve deeper into the human stories depicted in photographs from the museum’s newest exhibition, “Push Factors.” Explore changing migration patterns, local immigration policy and activism since the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

McKinnon is the curator of the Pick Museum’s newest exhibition, “Push Factors: Perspectives on Guatemalan Migration.” Curators Without Borders’ mission focuses on designing exhibitions, advocacy campaigns and cultural programming that utilize museum collections for humanitarian response internationally. McKinnon is working to develop pop-up exhibits in Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia by utilizing images from ethnographic and natural history museum collections to inspire language acquisition education.

Rodríguez, whose photographs are featured in “Push Factors,” is an award-winning documentary photographer whose work and presentation will focus on post-war processes, human rights abuses, land tenure issues and social conflicts caused by extractive industries in Guatemala and the region. His work has appeared in a number of journals and for organizations including International New York Times, NationalGeographic.com, Huffington Post, Amnesty International and Oxfam America.

Maddali is an associate professor of law and the director of clinics at NIU’s College of Law and will lend her expertise on immigration law, specifically the intersection between immigration and family law, and clinical legal education. In 2014 Maddali was honored by the College of Law for creating a legal clinic focused on merging the medical and legal needs of homeless and low-income residents of Aurora. She represents women and unaccompanied minors fleeing persecution from Latin American, African and Middle Eastern countries and has litigated education, employment, and immigration cases in federal and state court for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Briseño is an activist and NIU and DREAM Action alumna who works to provide mental health care to the immigrant community in Chicago through a collaborative, community-based organization called Roots to Wellness. She will discuss her experiences with DACA and Dream Action and speak to the realities of NIU’s undocumented student body.

“Push Factors: Perspectives on Guatemalan Migration” will be on display until May. For more information, please call the Pick Museum at 815-753-2520 or visit niu.edu/anthro_museum.

NIU Athletics invites all NIU faculty and staff to Faculty-Staff Appreciation nights on Tuesday, Feb. 28, for the NIU men’s basketball game and on Wednesday, March 1, for the women’s game.

Two complimentary general admission tickets are available to faculty and staff for the men’s game versus Western Michigan at 7 p.m. The women’s team faces Toledo at 8 p.m. (The women’s game was previously set to start at 7 p.m. but was moved to 8 p.m. due to being on TV.)

Doors open one hour before the start of the game.

To secure your tickets, print your invitation email and bring your OneCard ID to the NIU Convocation Center Ticket Office, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Additional tickets may be purchased for $10 to attend the men’s game and $6 to attend the women’s contest by calling 815-753-PACK and asking for “Faculty Day” tickets. This offer will be available until tip-off of each game.

Orientation & Family Connections is excited to announce the selection of 20 orientation leaders and nine orientation program interns who will be an important part of welcoming and transitioning new students and their families to NIU during this year’s summer orientation programs.

The recruitment and selection process occurred throughout the fall and early spring semesters. We had an outstanding group of candidates—which allowed us to select a highly diverse, involved and talented group of student leaders. Both positions train throughout the spring semester, including an additional 12 days leading up to the start of orientation programs.

Training includes problem-solving, communication, small group facilitation, managing group dynamics, diversity and inclusion, customer service and everything NIU. The overarching theme of the training experience is the role orientation plays in student transition, success and retention.

Please congratulate the 2017 orientation student staff.

Orientation leaders are Alexandra Barraza (senior, nursing), Robert Bishop (sophomore, accountancy), Zachery Brinner (junior, computer science), Kylie Cousins (sophomore, special education), Millie Derro (sophomore, health sciences), Olivia Elliot (sophomore, business administration), Michelle Garde (freshman, nursing), Arissa Harrison (senior, family and child studies), Shane Hudson (sophomore, athletic training), Nate James (sophomore, sociology), Yeon Woo Kim (sophomore, accountancy), Alexia Kingzette (freshman, psychology), Shannon Koegel (freshman, communicative disorders), Rodrigo Maldonado (freshman, accountancy), Juan Navarro (freshman, kinesiology), Tylor O’Leary (sophomore, finance), Kyran Reives (freshman, accountancy), Tyler Rogman (junior, biochemistry), Madison Smith (junior, English) and Ashlyn Thurman (freshman, psychology).

Orientation program interns are Mia Carter (freshman, biomedical engineering), Holly Hansen (freshman, communicative disorders), Isis Hernandez (sophomore, psychology), Rio Hershey (freshman, political science), Katherine Kaskie (junior, nursing), Jasmine Mark (junior, communication studies), Gloria Purnell (freshman, communicative disorders), Alexandra Renko (junior, elementary education) and Racquel Vonch (freshman, chemistry).

Northern Illinois Federal Credit Union is your local, cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by you, the members. Whether as a board director or as a committee member, you can help. You have the opportunity to strengthen your credit union in a variety of efforts and responsibilities if you consider dedicating your time.

This year, we have two board positions open for election. In addition, we are in need of dedicated members to help serve on various committees. Serving on a committee provides member support for the credit union, with individuals putting in only an hour to two of service time per month.

Applications for director positions, committees and general volunteering are now available on niucreditunion.com or from the credit union staff at 817 W. Lincoln Highway, Suite E in DeKalb. The credit union is more than 2,200 members strong and will continue to grow in the coming years. Now is the time for you to help make that growth sustained and lasting. For information, call 815-753-1911 or email creditunion@niu.edu.

Spearheaded by the National Eating Disorders Association, the goal of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is to shine the spotlight on eating disorders and put life-saving resources into the hands of those in need.

This year’s theme is “It’s Time to Talk About It,” and the campus community is invited to an awareness fair from noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, in the Holmes Student Center Gallery Lounge. Herbal tea, hot cocoa, myth busting, a screening and art therapy are a few of the event’s offerings. Do your jeans prevent you from feeling your best? Bring them to the event or drop them at Campus Recreation, Counseling and Consultation Services or Neptune Dining to donate them to Open Closet.

A body-loving yoga class, Yoga for Every Body, will be offered from 5:15 to 6 p.m.; no previous yoga experience is required. The day will wrap up with a panel discussion from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Chandelier Room at Adams Hall, where people who have worked toward recovery from an eating disorder will speak.

It’s time we take eating disorders seriously as public health concerns. It’s time we bust the myths and get the facts. It’s time to celebrate recovery and the heroes who make it possible. It’s time to take action and fight for change. It’s time to shatter the stigma and increase access to care. It’s time to talk about it.

NIU’s Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning, Counseling & Consultation Services, and Military and Post-Traditional Student Services held an information session on Jan. 25 for “Breaking Barriers,” a new on-campus group for first-generation college students. This meeting group is designed to provide support, mentoring and professional development to ensure first-generation college students have all of the tools they need for a successful transition into college and appropriate guidance to keep them on the right path to receive their undergraduate degree on time.

One of Breaking Barriers’ top priorities is addressing the needs of first-generation college students and providing opportunities for them to grow. During the January information session, students discussed areas of struggle such as seeking out financial aid, time management, career preparedness and networking. Additionally, students were provided with a list of ways to be successful, which included joining student organizations, and guidance regarding communication with their professors and other university staff members.

Three student leaders have volunteered to act as mentors for the participants, facilitate discussions and voice common issues on behalf of their peers.

“I am greatly looking forward to the next [Breaking Barriers] meeting,” said student leader Johnathan Freeman. “The collaboration between members and open style of discussion allows for a spectacular environment for critical thinking. I feel that these conversations will lead to greater success within my personal student career along with many other future first-generation students… It bodes well for the future first-generation students that arrive on campus.”

All first-generation college students are strongly encouraged to participate in Breaking Barriers to receive tools and guidance to set them on the path to academic and career success. For first-generation students, it is important to know that you are not alone. Taking part in a community like Breaking Barriers will foster growth, friendship and a solid support system among its members. Breaking Barriers created this welcoming and supportive environment for first-generation students to not only socialize with each other but grow together and succeed throughout their academic career and beyond.

For more information, contact Nelisha Gray with AmeriCorps VISTA at ngray@niu.edu or 815-753-8154.

The 2016-2017 Elizabeth Allen Visiting Scholars in Art History Series presents Dr. Sherry Lindquist, an alumna of NIU’s art history program and an associate professor of art history at Western Illinois University, speaking on “The Body and the Book of Hours: Somaesthetics, Posthumanism and the Uncanny Valley.”

The presentation will be given at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in room 100 of the Visual Arts Building. The talk is free and open to the public. 

“The Book of Hours and the Body: Somaesthetics, Posthumanism and the Uncanny Valley” explores our corporeal connection to the past by considering what three recent theoretical approaches to the postmodern body may reveal about premodern terms of embodiment.

Lindquist received her M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from Northwestern University. The author of numerous publications, her book, “Agency, Visuality and Society at the Chartreuse de Champmol,” was published in 2008. She has also edited a number of volumes, including “The Meanings of Nudity in Medieval Art” (Ashgate, 2012).

The Elizabeth Allen Visiting Scholars in Art History Series is hosted by the Art History Division and funded in part by the NIU School of Art and Design Visiting Artists and Scholars Program. For more information email avandijk@niu.edu.

The NIU Department of Mathematical Sciences will host a regional mathematics competition from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at DuSable Hall and the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center.

Close to 400 students from 15 high schools will participate in the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) Regional High School Mathematics Contest.

Individual and team competitions will be held in a number of subject areas, including algebra, geometry and pre-calculus. Prizes will be awarded to both individuals and teams in each subject and also to the best all-around performing schools. The winners automatically qualify to compete in the state championship later this spring.

Participating high schools include Antioch, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Grant Community, Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Kaneland, Lakes Community, Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, Oswego, Oswego East, St. Charles East, Waubonsie Valley and West Aurora High School.

This will be the 37th year of the ICTM High School Mathematics Contest, and NIU has hosted all but one of these ICTM regional events.

“We’re thrilled to again host this exciting event. The participating teams represent close to 40,000 high school students,” said Anders Linnér, director of the ICTM contest hosted by the Department of Mathematical Sciences. “These academically talented kids, also known as mathletes, are here given a chance to represent their school as part of a team. I recall chatting with one of our proctors that competed in this event when she belonged to her high school’s math team, and she said it changed her life.”

As is tradition, the chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Bernard Harris, will be handing out the awards at the end of the ceremony, scheduled to start at 2 p.m., at the Carl Sandburg Auditorium.

Affirmative Action and Equity Compliance will hold a planning meeting from noon to 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in New Hall Swing Space to organize the campus-wide Consent Campaign for March.

Consent is everything; it is pivotal in reducing and preventing sexual assault. Come with your ideas on how to reach students and communicate this information.

For more information or to RSVP, email aaec_training@niu.edu.

Members of the NIU coaching staff and administrators in Intercollegiate Athletics will host a Jobs PLUS event on the topic of team building at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, in the Nelson Club at the NIU Convocation Center. The event will feature a presentation by Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Ray Gooden followed by a panel discussion of select head coaches and administrators and will take place prior to the women’s basketball game that evening versus Toledo. Tipoff for the game is 8 p.m.

Online registration is required for Jobs PLUS events. Students are encouraged to sign up early to secure their space. The event is free and open to all NIU students. Students whose employers are participating in Jobs PLUS may be eligible to attend the event on their paid work time with permission of their employer.

“When I talk with employers, both those that hire our students after graduation and those that employ them in jobs while they are in college, a theme I hear repeatedly is the importance of working effectively in teams,” said Chad Glover, director of Jobs PLUS. “We are very fortunate that Intercollegiate Athletics is hosting this event for us and providing insights to our students on the topic.”

Intercollegiate Athletics is looking forward to sharing the knowledge and experience on team building their staff has with students.

“Intercollegiate Athletics is a unique industry in that we are required to work and build an atmosphere of teamwork in order to achieve competitive success. The information presented by our coaches and administrators will be useful for all students looking to hone their skills in building teams,” said Debra Boughton, senior associate athletics director and chief of staff in intercollegiate athletics.

Jobs PLUS events also qualify for Passport in the College of Business, Honors Engaged in University Honors and are being promoted through the professional development course in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Starting Thursday, Feb. 23, the Northern Illinois University School of Theatre and Dance will perform one of the most timeless and famous pieces of literature in history, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” This production will explore the classic love story mixed with a contemporary style.

“I think it is as vital now as it was when it was written,” said Richard Raether, guest director for the production. Raether is the artistic director at the Artists’ Ensemble Theatre in Rockford.

This classic show tells the story of a pair of teenagers struck by love at first sight. However, when family rivalries interfere, the couple is pushed to give the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect their sacred vows.

Although traditionally performed in the style of the mid-1590s, “Romeo and Juliet” has a significant amount of content relating to today.

“I’m learning that these are just real people going through real problems,” said Schanora Wimpie, the actress playing Juliet.

Wimpie said the family rivalry in the show is ever present in the world today. “It definitely relates to today and society in general, like a lot of the feuds and war and specifically in Chicago, with the gang violence happening there now. It’s senseless war that gets in the way of love.”

The contemporary style in which the play is being performed helps make this show accessible to a modern audience as well. With the advanced language of Shakespeare, it’s important to make sure that the material still connects with the audience.

“It’s designed to have a very contemporary feel, which helps an audience to identify with the characters, to understand who they are and what motivates them,” Wimpie said. “I think once people come, they can find out how relatable it is, and actually start to question some of those things that are happening today in society.”

Performances are held at Huntley Middle School’s main auditorium, 1515 S. Fourth St. in DeKalb. Show times will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sundays, from Feb. 23 through 26 and March 2 through 5.

“It’s going to be a terrific show. It’s going to be action-packed. I’ve got a lot of humor in it, and yet it’s a tragedy for our times,” Raether said.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $9 for students. Ticket reservations or additional information is available by phone at 815-753-1600 or online at the School of Theatre and Dance.

This fall, a new Living-Learning Community enters the residence halls for any student who loves sport, recreation and personal wellness. Students living in Stevenson Hall’s Sport, Recreation and Wellness Community will participate in intramural leagues, weekend trips, monthly workshops and a special section of UNIV 101. Students in this community get a fitness assessment, can attend group fitness classes and get a nutrition coaching session. All the programs and services are valued over $250 for the year, but you only pay the Living-Learning Community fee of $50 per semester.

Students in this community even get year-round direct contact to staff, faculty and resources in Campus Recreation and the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

Current residents can sign up for this community starting Wednesday, Feb. 22. New residents can sign up starting the week of March 6, during the new resident sign-up lottery. This is a great opportunity to enhance your personal wellness and live with other students who share your interest in sport and recreation.

See the room sign up schedule for your time to sign up and learn more about Sport, Recreation and Wellness Community at Campus Recreation.