In Brief

Eight-character passwords
to be enforced Nov. 10

In an effort to improve security, ITS will begin enforcing an eight-character password for login authentication to NIU’s network, including Windows, Novell, Unix, NT and MVS systems. It is recommended passwords be an alphanumeric combination of eight characters.

Please see the ITS documentation about creating secure passwords and learn how to change your password online by using WebFoyer.

NIU instructor presents
one-woman show Nov. 5

NIU writing composition instructor Loren Hecht will perform a one-woman show of story, monologue and music at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center.

“Light & Dark,” presented by Power Solo Performances, begins with the piece, “Mamie’s Grocery,” a hair-raising, uplifting and timeless tale of rediscovery and a look back at childhood.

Hecht’s second piece, “The Journey,” is a dramatic monologue about the trauma of watching a loved one die. A moving tribute to her younger brother, David, “The Journey” is the story of Hecht’s family as they deal with the tragedy surrounding them. The ticking of the clock throughout the performance serves as a metaphor for the progressive countdown not only to David’s death, but for each of us.

Admission is $5 for NIU students and faculty, as well as DeKalb Area Women’s Center members, and $8 for general admission. The DeKalb Area Women’s Center is located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb. Parking is available one-half block south of the building off of the Eleventh Street alley. The handicapped accessible lift can be reached from the alley north of the building.

For more information, contact Anna Marie Coveny at (815) 758-1351.

Missionary to speak Nov. 6
on Israeli occupation

The Rev. Sandra Olewine, a Methodist missionary fresh from years of service in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, on “Living Under Military Occupation – What Americans Need to Know about the Israeli Occupation.”

Olewine’s address will take place at First United Methodist Church, on the corner of 4th and Oak streets in DeKalb. A potluck begins at 6 p.m.

Sponsored by DeKalb Interfaith Network and the Northern Coalition for Peace & Justice, Olewine will bring fresh stories about the people and families in the midst of conflict, as well as her recommendations regarding the road to peace.

During Olewine’s years in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, she served as a liaison between the people of various faiths in the area, hosted visiting delegations seeking to understand more about the situation and sent gripping reports home of what she saw and experienced on both sides of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The public is invited. There is no charge, but a freewill offering will be taken. For more information, call Sondra King at (815) 758-8702.

Borders to help scholarships for
NIU Community School of the Arts

Shoppers at the DeKalb Borders store this weekend – Friday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 10 – who present an NIU Community School of the Arts voucher at the cash register will help its scholarship programs.

Borders generously returns 15 percent of the money shoppers (with vouchers) spend at the store during those days to the Community School of the Arts. Since the scholarship programs began in 1993, more than 300 scholarships were awarded to young students for the study of music, art or theater.

Students will perform at the store between 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.

Some teachers in the program, meanwhile, will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Recital Hall of the NIU Music Building. There is a fee to help raise funds for the scholarship programs.

For more information, or to obtain vouchers, call 753-1450.

Caregivers support group
holds biweekly meetings

A caregivers support group led by Ellen Parham, a professor in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences in the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences, meets biweekly at Family Service Agency of DeKalb, 14 Health Services Drive.

The group, sponsored by the Northwestern Area Agency on Aging and Family Service Agency of DeKalb, is for caregivers of frail elderly and is free. It meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. every first and third Monday night. No prior registration is required.

For more information, call (815) 758-8616.

NIU Student Mediation Services
provides help resolving conflicts

The Student Mediation Services Office provides NIU students with free mediation services to assist in resolving personal disputes and conflicts.

Mediation helps students develop important life skills such as anger management, dispute resolution, and effective communication skills. Mediation is a confidential process in which an impartial third party facilitates communication between people to promote reconciliation, settlement, or an understanding between parties. Mediation is voluntary, confidential, empowering, and a win-win opportunity.

The Student Mediation Services Office has mediators available to assist with such situations as dispute between members of organizations, roommate problems, minor harassment, noise and disruptive behavior, ethnic and lifestyle tensions, minor incidents of violence, and relationship problems. The process facilitates communication and all services are confidential.

The Student Mediation Services Office encourages referrals from all NIU departments, faculty and staff, and accepts self-referrals from students.

The Student Mediation Services Office is located in Grant Hall, Tower A, on the second floor. To learn more about mediation services provided, or to provide a referral for the mediation program, please contact Heather Wier, mediation coordinator, at 753-4799 or via e-mail at hwier@niu.edu.

11-3-03