NIU Today

A research report compiled and presented by an NIU sociology professor and her student research team to the Landmark Commission of DeKalb and the DeKalb City Council has prompted the granting of historic landmark status to the former Finnish Majakka Hall. The current occupant of the building at 1021 State St. is the non-profit organization,...

NIU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center is seeking applications for its annual Joseph Harry Endowed Scholarship. The endowment for the Joseph Harry Scholarship Program was established through the generosity of the namesake professor, who taught in the NIU Department of Sociology from 1977 to 1998. During that period, he conducted considerable research in the...

Now that you survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s time to shop Fair Trade Wednesday and Thursday. The Sociology Student Organization is hosting its annual Fair Trade Gift Sale in partnership with Just Goods from Rockford. A portion of the proceeds supports the Department of Sociology’s Alternative Spring Break Habitat for Humanity trip. This...

The Department of Sociology, in conjunction with the Sociology Student Advisory Committee and the NIU Criminal Justice Club, kicks off the 10th annual Sociology Week event tonight. Sociology Week is being held in rooms 505 and 506 or the Holmes Student Center from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, through Thursday, Nov. 15. The...

No government can exist without monetary support from its populace, and no democratic nation can thrive without the moral support of its citizenry.

From Google’s “black bar” to Wikipedia’s blackout, large Internet entities are mobilizing like never before to protect freedom of information online. These protests come in response to the U.S. government’s attempts to enforce copyright laws and prevent piracy on the web. Who do the proposed laws really protect and what are the ramifications of tighter...

The real Chicago winter has finally reared its ugly head, and if you think the cold, slush and snow are tough on motorists, imagine what it’s like for the city’s bicycle messengers, those daredevils who risk life and limb in downtown traffic to make rush deliveries. NIU sociology professor Jeffrey Kidder has a good idea....

NIU senior sociology major Mack H. Lewis II attended this July’s Campus Pride’s fifth annual Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp, aptly called “Camp Pride.” The five-day long leadership institute, the only national program of its kind, is geared toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders from colleges and universities across the United States....

Jenna Roberts, a former standout on the Northern Illinois University softball team from 2006-09, has returned to NIU as an assistant softball coach Huskies’ head coach Lindsay Chouinard announced Tuesday. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Jenna back,” Chouinard said. “She has every trait that I was looking for in an assistant and more....

An amendment change to House Bill 180 that was created in an NIU classroom was unanimously approved by state lawmakers Monday, May 23. As part of a final project in Sociology 392: Organizing for Social Action, students were challenged with finding a cause and presenting recommendations for its improvement. The result was a possible amendment...

In 2006, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the “Let Them Rest in Peace Act,” which prevents the disruption of funerals or memorial services with disorderly conduct. Now, with the help of 17 NIU students and one class project, House Bill 180 might undergo an amendment change. The amendment was created as a final project...

Amitabh Pal is managing editor of The Progressive. His talk on "Non-Violence and Islam" will elaborate on the recent people's movements resulting in regime change in Egypt and Tunisia and how those nonviolent protests fit into the historical context of this Islamic tradition.