NIU Today

It is the season of giving, and Huskies are supporting a DeKalb County agency for the victims and prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. Safe Passage provides a range of services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including crisis intervention and medical advocacy, short-term and long-term housing for victims and their children,...

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. NIU is committed to ensuring that all members of its community, including guests and visitors, have the right to learn and work in the safest possible community and environment, and to be free from all forms of sex discrimination, including sexual assault. The university community is hosting a variety...

Only “yes” means “yes” is the message for the NIU community since NIU’s consent policy was officially adopted in regards to initiating sexual encounters. Over the past two months, NIU Today has featured members of the university’s Violence Against Women Task Force and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Implementation Committee who have worked so diligently...

Early learning experiences are crucial to the growth and development of young children. The FCNS Child Development Lab will celebrate the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Week of the Young Child 2015: Celebrating our Youngest Learners. Scheduled from Sunday, April 12, through Saturday, April 18, the Week of the Young Child is...

Five students of NIU’s Community Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE) program spent the fall semester interning with nonprofit agencies in DeKalb and Sycamore. This is the first semester of an innovative communiversity partnership designed to provide students with experiences that will lead to career success while benefiting the local nonprofit sector. Students earn course credit...

The Huskie Service Scholars program is hosting the second annual Coats with Heart competition. Coats with Heart is a campus-wide coat and accessory drive competition held in accordance with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in November. Huskie Service Scholars are asking student organizations, campus departments and other groups to sign up to participate in...

Three thousand rubber ducks were tossed into the Kishwaukee River this week. The 13th annual Duck Race took place Sunday behind the WNIJ radio station. Despite the windy afternoon, students and families came out to show their support for Alpha Phi Omega and Safe Passage by taking part in the family fair and cheering on...

The statistics are startling. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three women and one in four men have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking in their lifetime. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, 1 million acts of domestic violence occur in the United States each year, with up to 10 million children...

Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October of 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children. The Day of Unity soon became a special week when...

With the desire of reaching out to the DeKalb community, the University Honors Program initiated a service learning project called “Birthday Boxes,” during the 2011-2012 academic year. This service project has since grown and become a staple of the University Honors Program tradition. Partnering with Safe Passage and Hope Haven, Birthday Boxes provides University Honors...

When Eric Sterling talks about activism, environmentalism and community, he is noticeably filled with enthusiasm. An anthropology student at NIU, Sterling returned to school after working 17 years as a union carpenter. Two and a half years ago, he took his first anthropology class and fell in love with the program. After he learned about...

Jeanne Meyer has been both a prosecutor and a public defender. She’s been both a police officer who arrested those who broke the law and a sturdy support system for those innocent victims of crime. Now the NIU police sergeant and former victim advocate in the NIU Office of Support and Advocacy has taken on...