Day Two in DeKalb

By Ross Boettcher

After working into the wee hours of Friday morning (5 a.m. to be exact), we woke up today and started researching leads and possible events that we want to get covered during our stay here in DeKalb.

While we were digging around on the Internet this morning, we found two items of interest in relation to Northern Illinois University and their use of communications. As we were looking for contact information for students and staff members we noticed that the information on file at the school's homepage (niu.edu) was both lacking and confusing in regards to telephone numbers and e-mail information.

According to some students we spoke to last night, NIU's emergency alert system sent e-mails to students, and campus phones were called and had emergency messages left. At this point, we're not sure if the procedures were effective or not, but it is something we will continue to look into during our time here.

While we were turning over a few rocks we found students were relegated to using facebook and other online social-networking means instead of using their cell phones immediately after the shooting. During the time of the shooting on Thursday, Feb. 14, cell phone activity on the NIU campus and the surrounding area was 13 times higher than its average, according to reports from the Chicago Tribune.

This high volume of telecommunications use led to jammed signals and left students scrambling for a means to communicate with classmates immediately after the shooting took place around 3 p.m. in Cole Hall.

One a side note, there is something I have noticed with this act of violence that can be seen as a positive and a negative. During a conversation with three NIU students last night, they spoke about themes of togetherness and support. The only issue was that this togetherness they spoke of was different than friends being with friends or peers supporting one another.

Their comments flirted with hints of segregation in the DeKalb community. One student said that it was the first time he had seen members of so many racial sub-communities come together at one time and support one another.

While it's great to see these racial and social barriers being torn down, it is also disappointing to see this action come on the cuffs of such violence. It shouldn't take events such as this to unite a community and bring a sense of togetherness, this is something that, as Americans, should already resonate in our lifestyles. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Not just in DeKalb, Illinois, but in many regions across the United States.

Our schedule for the rest of Saturday:

- 4 p.m. DeKalb High School varsity basketball game. (DeKalb High School officials have invited NIU students to attend the game and the DeKalb squad will be donning NIU's colors, Red and Black, instead of their own black and orange, in remembrance of the Feb. 14 shooting.)

- 5:30 p.m. Otto's Night Club. (One of NIU's local watering holes is hosting live entertainment to help raise money for the families of the victims.)