Minutes of the
STUDENT ASSOCIATION SENATE
OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
11 November 2012
CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The meeting was called to order by Speaker Austin M. D. Quick at 6:00 p.m. in the Clara Sperling
Skyroom of the Holmes Student Center. Senate Clerk Chad Harris conducted a roll call of Senators. All
members were present except; Senator K. Smith, and Senator Gordon. Also present were members of
the Executive Staff, Bill Nicklas, Acting Police Chief Darren Mitchell, and Kelly Wesener Michael With a
quorum present, the meeting proceeded. Speaker Quick asked Senator Wiggins to lead in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
MEETING AND AGENDA APPROVAL
Speaker Quick motions to amend the agenda and move items B, D, E, F, G, H, and consider it read as old
business. And postpone item C on old business. Motion Adopted.
SPEAKER’S REPORT
Good evening everyone. I want to start up tonight by thanking all of you who gave up your time on
Wednesday for David Bogenberger’s memorial vigil. It is no doubt a tragedy and a great loss for our
community, but there is a true beauty in watching so many people come together to honor one of our
own. I ask that you continue to keep David, his family and his friends in your thoughts and prayers as
they begin the long process of healing. On another note, today is Veteran’s day, a day that honors those
who have given of themselves to ensure our freedom. Our nation has been defended for over 200 years
by brave men and women willing to lay down their lives for the great experiment called democracy. Just
this past week we saw that democracy in action as people from all walks of life went to the voting
booths to elect our nation’s leaders. As with all elections there are winners and losers. I will not go into
my various views on this topic, but I believe it is worth noting that we have shown the world yet again
what a free and peaceful nation looks like when they go to vote. Sure there during the election season
here are some arguments here and there and at some points people may get agitated with another’s
point of view. What a matter in the end is that we come together united as a nation under the belief
that no matter who wins the election our nation will prosper. All of these freedoms are guaranteed by
our service members and here at Northern we are blessed to attend classes, serve on committees and
walk among these heroes every day. NIU has over 800 student veterans that come from the various
branches of the military. Some served decades ago or more, many have served in places that we have all
become too familiar with. Places such as Afghanistan or Iraq are the places that these people have
transferred to NIU from. These wars have been there training ground and have impacted them deeply.
We must continue to honor the sacrifices of those who have given so much for us to sit here tonight
debating and discussing issues that are affecting our students. In honor of this solemn holiday, I ask that
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we give pause and reflect on all that we hold so dear. For without those willing to fight for us we would
not be able to do that. Speaking of the freedoms of speech and expression, I am going to turn my
remarks to an area that is both uncomfortable to discuss in public, but also very necessary for leaders
such as yourself to look at. Since the last session of senate, I have been pushing this body to demand
better from his university. Last year when I demanded that the convocation center better serve us and
stop double charging student organizations I was unaware of the true magnitude of the abuse that was
happening at various levels in the university. As we began to look into the accounts we uncovered so
much abuse of power and ethical violations that we were all shocked. From that point, multiple
members of the university and staff had been arrested, charged, and or put on leave. A few have been
allowed to resign, all the while being paid severance packages with signed agreements not to talk. Now
we have allegations and charges stemming from the university employees stealing university materi8al
and selling it for personal gain and now they are calling it the coffee fund. This act alone calls to question
university administrators willingness for so many years to sit back and allow these actions to occur. A
simple search of the Northern Star reveals how this problem was uncovered over a decade ago. At that
time the university stated that they implemented changes in procedures to ensure that it did not occur
again. One point that is important to me is that we cannot ignore that these lapses in oversight and
changes of leadership for the people in charge of that area at that time are the same people in charge
today. The time for passing the buck has come to the end. One of the biggest goals for vision 20/20 is an
increased student body while making NIU “The most student centered campus in the US.” Student
Centered. That is almost laughable considering the recent events on our campus. This fall students
returned to higher tuition and fees with one less thing provided for them: free campus printing. The
university has maintained that this was done in an effort to cut costs, but as we see in many examples,
money is there when it is needed for other things. Currently, the university has had to hire over four
attorneys additionally to help in the various legal problems that NIU faces. Additionally, as I have
mentioned before, there are hundreds of university administrators who have the luxury of university
paid cell phones costing over $300,000 annually. It seems to me that there is only money for things that
benefit those in power. This last week we had a vote before the University Council regarding plus minus.
This was a great opportunity for the various leaders of this university to speak up on behalf of the
students concern. We were not asking for plus minus to be removed, rather we were asking for more
time and more student input. With so many outcries from student leaders, one would think that these
leaders would voice their support for more student input. But to the shock of so many students who
were there and have heard about it since, these leaders who we have come to respect and look up to
When students needed them most, they sat silent and unwilling to put any skin in the game or any effort
to give students the chance to take a deeper look at this issue. The positives and negatives of plus minus
can be argued, the point is that it will create a burden on students to increase their GPAs in an ever
more competitive market. Time and again, members of the university have bucked any attempt by
students to have a true seat at the table as the university constitution dictates in shared governance.
But as I was told by Shawn Farrell in the University Steering Council Committee, “This is not Wal-Mart,”
how dare students feel they should be listened to about such arbitrary things as grading that affects
them or propose a grievance policy so that students have a way to make complaints against those who
berate or offend them. No, senators, a grievance policy would infringe upon a professors ability to have
control over their courses and may limit their academic freedoms. Now, I come to the latest public NIU
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relations issue that the university faces regarding the Police Department and the alleged cover-up of
evidence regarding a case where one of their officers allegedly sexually assaulted a student. The
department has elected to do their own internal investigation rather than ask for help from another
agency who can guarantee that there is no view of conflict of interest. No, as we have all learned too
often, our department leaderships don’t play well with others. We were told it was the previous DeKalb
police chief’s fault. Now that he is gone, the new chief-who our current NIU police chief on leave was on
the selection committee for- is being accused of not playing well with others. It is crazy to me that we
continue to allow these people to work in positions that give the university such a bad name. I don’t
think that is part of the University’s PR campaign, to upset judges, to upset state’s attorneys. The time to
act is now. There is a laundry list of things we have asked for. Campus recreation, for a number of years
we have been saying it has been an issue. Members of the board have gone to people within the division
of finance and facilities putting out examples of how we can get things that every other university has
and that some students would like. I have had members of the board of trustees tell me time and time
again no. I did a simple search and we do keep track of these things in my office, the newspaper articles
from the tribune the last couple of days, we have ones from a few years ago about the nepotism that
has occurred when people who are related to other people have gotten raises much higher than
everyone else. Enough is enough. Obviously, tonight I am a little irritated because this is beyond
frustrating. I have spoken to you many times about how I have come to love this place. NIU is an
amazing place that has so much to offer. I am not saying that everyone is corrupted at this university;
we have a lot of great administrators, faculty and staff. What we have is a few bad apples. And the bad
apples have been allowed to sit here and rot. We spend a lot of money on PR campaigns to make our
university look good, but all that doesn’t matter every time someone in the suburbs opens up the paper
and sees another negative thing about NIU. Not only does it impact our university in trying to gain
students, it also impacts you as people who are going to graduate here with a piece of paper from his
university. What does it mean if you graduate from NIU. You should leave this institution with a sense of
pride and ladies and gentlemen, obviously I am a little jaded in this regard now because of the countless
things. What sense of pride is there left? It’s enough, enough is enough. The university must take a
stand to show that we are not going to take this anymore. It is ironic that the day that they announce
the arrests of the eight current and one former staff member that that was the day we were informed
that we had to fill out our ethics courses to be a paid state employee, which those of us that work at the
SA or university are considered. Were people not paying attention to those ethics tests, were people not
held accountable? The thing that is most telling about this issue is that it is not the first time. Like I said,
do a simple Google search. About ten years ago there was this issue with scrap metal being solid and
people using university vehicles. It’s in there. At that time, the same people that are in charge now said
that they would make the necessary changes to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. But here we are again,
no change. Same people, same story. I wish nothing but the best to those who have been placed in
charge both as acting directors, like the acting police chief who will come up here today. This is
something that we have to demand from the people who are put into power at this university. This plus
minus thing was the final straw for a lot of us. We were not asking that they got rid of it completely, we
were not asking that it be taken off the table, we were asking for more student input. A resounding
number of faculty in University Council and Faculty Senate said that they didn’t care and that it was a
faculty issue. Again, like I said, the pros and cons of plus minus can be debated but that is not the point.
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The point is that we had people in the front of this room in University Council who sit here and who are
paid to look out for the best interests of students. We weren’t asking them to take a side, we were
asking for them to make a voice. We had a couple of faculty members who stood up and said “You know
what, the students are asking for this. Why don’t we give them a bit more time?” They gave us a month
from the last vote. When they went into the meeting with the committees, they knew the way they
would vote. We are getting ready with search committees all across the campus both for the President,
obviously an import committee and we will hopefully have a few Student Association members on that
committee. There will also be a search committee started for, or has been started for the Vice President
of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. It sounds like there is going to be a few other
committees for various other high level positions at the university. We must get our voices out there. It
is one thing to sit here on Sunday nights in the sky room and talk about to make us feel a little better
that we at least voiced it. Maybe the media will cover it. It is not enough. We have to demand better
from the university. Students pay way too much money to go here to be treated like this. Again, I’m not
saying it’s across the board. Overall I think everyone has a very good experience at NIU, like I said, it’s
those few bad apples. But those bad apples are starting to pile up. I don’t know about you, but I leave in
a few weeks. I’m done, I graduate and I leave. That doesn’t mean that we stop speaking out. We have to
demand better. For the next few weeks, my last week’s here as Speaker and serving a student of this
University, I’m going to challenge you. We will be doing whatever we can in our power under the
Constitution and shared governance at this university to demand better. If that means that people in
senior positions who have been here for too long and have outlived their welcome and need to be
relieved of their duties, so be it. The university must actually do something now, not just do things in a
way to react to the news stories of the day. The time for reacting in my opinion is over. It is time to be
proactive and actually show both the university, obviously, but the broader community as a whole, the
future students and parents of students and future students, future staff members and employees that
are looking to change paths. When they go to search their past university and type in to their new
search engine, they will see what comes up. We must demand better. I am going to challenge you to do
what you can to get out and speak to students. I am one person, I don’t speak for everybody. You were
elected to represent your areas and the students in those areas. It is time to go out there, hit the
streets. I have challenged all of you to have your town hall meetings in your caucuses, which you
probably haven’t yet. The next couple of weeks I want you to do it, so the caucus chairs take note. I
want a caucus meeting and district meeting in all five districts at this school over the next two weeks
Pick a day, pick a time, we will work out the logistics. I want the students to have the opportunity to
speak because the university has not given them that. Have them speak, to hear what their concerns
and issues are. I love this place; it has been very good to me. I have seen a lot of people here in positions
of leadership that I look up to very much. I don’t want to leave here from this podium tonight making
you think that I hate this place or think that we are beyond fixing. On the contrary, I believe in this place
and the people here so much that if we unite, students, faculty and staff, and administrators, that we
can make NIU the most student centered university not just in the Midwest, but in the nation. We have
the ability; we have the capability to do this. People within the division of student affairs and enrollment
management, every day I meet people who are willing to work over and above the hours that they get
paid to help students. The tragedy of last week with the untimely death of a student was a great
example of the people of this university coming together for a common cause. Just like we heard at the
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memorial service, most of us didn’t know David Bogenberger. That didn’t stop us from coming together
and remembering one of our own. We must demand better. What that looks like, I will leave to you, but
I want to hear from you. I want every single one of you to meet with students over the next few weeks
and get opinions. They read the paper, they see this. How much they take notice of it I don’t know. It is
all happening very quickly with the paper printing issue. When I first started talking about that within
committees that I serve on at the University level, people have said “Well what’s the big deal? It’s only
paper.” At a time when we are bringing students to this campus who can barely afford to go here and
then we take away something that of course is a luxury. There is no doubt in my mind that it is a luxury,
most universities don’t have that, but it is another example of students not mattering. At least, that is
the perception. Again, I could be wrong, but as I have said numerous times in this body and in others.
Perception is reality. It is time for people within the administration; faculty and staff, to truly ask them
why are they are. When a professor tells me that this isn’t Wal-Mart when we are bringing up the issues
of grading or grievance policies, that is a problem. The number one thing I hear in these committees
when I am with faculty is “academic freedom.” Academic freedom I believe in and understand the basis
for, but at what cost? When you have students going to classes, there was a student who came to me
last year that was a veteran who came to me on Veterans Day, had PTSD and a learning disorder from
traumatic brain injury. He went to the professor and told him that he needed her to slow down in her
lecture a little bit or if she could change the slides. Before class, he sat down in his chair in Montgomery
hall and the professor went through the slides and stopped after a long time during the slide and
said…”Is that slow enough?.” Enough is enough, we have to demand better. In a few moments we are
going to welcome up Bill Nicklas and the acting police Chief. I ask that you give that you I’ve them the
upmost respect they have a difficult job ahead of them. I think people like Bill Nicklas, someone who has
been moved around more times than he expected which is more than he expected when he took the job
for strategic planning, I told him his title should be vice president of fixing. And its people like him that
we know that there are people here that truly are here for the right reason. And I wish that the acting
police chief and the next chief whether its him or the outside search, I wish them the best. Because I
believe in this place. We have the potential. Look around here, there’s 40 students that are willing to
give up their time on a Sunday night, raining with the bears getting ready to play, to try to make a
difference. Every time we have a student loss we say it’s time for us to come together as a community,
and in a meeting with Kelly Wesener Michael the other day which talked about the untimely death of
David Bogenberger. We were sitting there, student leaders, talking about what we as student leaders
can do to bring a sense of unity and pride, I believe for tool long students believe they don’t have any
skin in the game. We are here for a temporary time and we move on, and we are treated as such. Ladies
and gentleman, today is the day we take back this university, it is ours. No more overcharging. When the
convocation staff gets a little over 8 million dollars in bond fees, and they charge student groups every
time someone wants to use it. No more. And the campus rec, one more thing I’m going to point out
about the changes here. The Holmes student center currently gets approximately $12 per credit hour
per student. Convocation Center gets about $8.00 per student. Guess how much Campus recreation
gets, a little over $2.00. Convocation center is supposed to bring in a lot more money on the outside
with banquets and concerts. But the one building that is solely student focused. $2 dollars. President Le
Flore and I are going to try and change that this week, not reduce fees, but reallocate money to where
the students have asked for better. Over the next few weeks. I want to hear back from all of you that NIU
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you got feedback from students so that one, we are even making a voice in the students, make sure this
is something they really want us to fight. Apathy is not an excuse to sit back and do nothing. Read the
university constitution and actually do what we are supposed to do in the idea of shared governments
that we are supposed to live under. Now I welcome up Kelly Wesener Michael, Bill Nicklas, and Acting
Police Chief Darren Mitchel.
COMMITTEE REPORT(S)
Seth Peritz, Mass Transit:
 Took options 1, 4, 5.
o Affects students the least.
o Saves approximately $105,000.
Michael Theodore, University Services
 Grievance Policy.
o Lots of Student Support.
o Need a constructed format.
 Benchmarking with other Universities.
 Petitions:
o Need Signatures
o Need cover sheet.
o Need correct format signing or it is terminated.
James Zanayed, Campus Life & Greek Affairs
 Bystander Intervention
o November 13, Wednesday, 6:00pm
EXECUTIVE BRANCH REPORT(S)
None.
OLD BUSINESS
SAB 44015: A Bill to Recognize Interactive Marketing Board.
 Motion Passes at 6:51pm
SAB 44016: A Bill to Recognize Making Enterprise.
 Motion Passes at 6:51pm
SAB 44017: A Bill to Recognize National Society of College Scholars.
 Motion to Postpone passes at 6:52 pm
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SAR 44027: A Resolution to appoint members to the Presidential Search Committee.
 Mike Theodore appointed to the committee instead of Cara Prock
 Motion Passes at 6:54 pm
SAR 44028: A Resolution to Elect a new Speaker.
 Chad Harris and Brian Troutman remove their names from the ballot.

Senator James Alford speaks on his behalf.
o Senator Clark Inquires “ Speaker is very time consuming, do you think you have the time
to make the commitment to all the meetings that Austin attends?”
 Has experience with running a long list of duties in organizations and feels he
can adequately add this on.
o Senator Fullilove Inquires “how does your other organizations add to your experience to
qualify you as speaker.”
 It Shows diversity in the issues that he can get involved with.

Senator Michael Theodore speaks on his behalf.
o Senator Koegel Inquires “in the upcoming semester do you have any other time
commitments.”
 Yes he has already begun to transfer power to the other members of the
organizations he’s apart of so that he can clear up his time for speaker.
o Senator Kelsey Shockey Inquires “moving from a legislator to a speaker you will need to
use different abilities, what do you think you’ll need to do as speaker that you haven’t
done as a legislator?”
 With all the organizations and leadership examples he can take lead of senate
and being a public administration major he feels he can run an office.

Senator James Zanayed speaks on his behalf.
o Senator Town Inquires ”what sort of other groups have you participated around the
campus?”
 Being on the housing task force of Dekalb with Bill Nicklas. Got new lights in the
northwest corridor. Student trainer in Bystander Intervention.
o Senator Cakici Inquires “How do you plan on holding the university accountable?”
 More positions assigned protests outside of Altgeld, whatever is necessary to get
student voices heard.
o Senator Koegel Inquires “do you have any other obligations next semester?”
o Other than classes he has have no other obligations.
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

Senator Beltran Inquires “How you plan on working in the university and city given the two
different dynamics”
o It’s a relationship building process, day to day relations; working with those specific
offices will build those necessary relationships.
Motion Passes and Michael Theodore is Elected Speaker of the Senate for the 2nd semester
of the 44th Senate session.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Senator Theodore announced that senators should message him when they plan on petitions so he can
coordinate the big plan.
Speaker Quick announced veteran day applause for Senator Wiggins who served in the Airforce, and Dr.
John R Jones who served in the army. Senator Clark added Speaker quick who served in the Navy.
ADJOURNMENT
Speaker Quick requested a motion to adjourn. Motion is made by Senator Zanayed. Seconded by
Senator Theodore. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:36 p.m.
MINUTES SUBMITTED BY
Chad A. Harris, Clerk of the Senate & Special Assistant to the Speaker.
EXECUTIVE ALLOCATION INFORMATION
None
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