Northern Star Monday, March 23, 2015
Volume 115, Issue 77
The Truth Shall Bear All Light
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Since 1899
Ryan Ocasio | Northern Star
Ben Donovan (left) and Nathan Lupstein (right), Student Association presidential candidates, speak during a Thursday debate in the Holmes Student Center. The two and their respective tickets are facing off in SA executive elections. Voting, which will be held online at niu.collegiatelink.net, is Tuesday and Wednesday.
SA ELECTIONS Voting: everything to know
What: Voting for the Student Association executive elections. Students must have their OneCards to vote. When: Polls will be open to voters 9 a.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday Where: Voting is online at Huskie Link, niu.collegiatelink.net. Polling stations with laptops are in the Holmes Student Center, Founders Memorial Library, Barsema Hall, DuSable Hall and the Recreation Center. Know the candidates: Read about each candidate on Page 3. Vote: The Editorial Board explains why you must vote in this year’s Student Association elections on Page 12. Online voting: Read more about the Student Association’s move to online voting at bit. ly/19JN76N.
Candidates share plans at debate tion Executive Elections Candidates Night and Debate allowed for candidates to discuss what the SA could do in light of proposed cuts in state allocation to NIU. The Thursday debate was held between Voice of Change ticket members Nathan Lupstein, Reggie Bates, Marc Calvey and Raquel Chavez and Standing for Every Student ticket members Benjamin Donovan, Robert Kreml and Gladys Sanchez. President Donovan said it was important for the SA to increase student outreach and try to connect more with DeKalb, which he said he has done with his push to lower the bar-entry age in DeKalb to 20. “In the past, the [SA] Senate has not worked much with the greater DeKalb community ... and we’ve had [a lot] of conversations with them this year,” Donovan said. “And I would like to keep it that way.” Lupstein said he would like to take a more direct approach to the
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student body, including preventing the merging of resource centers and making sure the centers are kept separate to preserve their history. “We have a huge issue with students not knowing that they have representation ... and we need to have a bigger sense of campus outreach,” Lupstein said.
Bates said he would increase leadership workshops for the SA Senate to be better prepared for making decisions. Bates said he has been reading the SA Bylaws every night to familiarize himself with the rules. “I’m planning on bringing in the mentoring workshops for the Senate ... so that we may be able to better serve our student body and Vice president so we can make them better leadKreml said he would focus on ers and so we don’t have to worry helping students join groups by cre- about only two tickets running for ating a second student involvement positions,” Bates said. fair and by becoming the liaison between the SA Senate and student Treasurer organizations. Sanchez said she would use social “I think by having a second fair it media websites to stay in contact helps freshmen who first semester with students by asking students wanted to focus on their studies and what they need, as well as providing didn’t know the campus very well, deadlines to receive funding. but come second semester there isn’t “I have specific plans to give to another fair to help them decide on you guys,” Sanchez said. “I have a what they want to do in the spring,” handout for [student organizations] Kreml said. “It also would help for all their deadlines for funding transfer students who are coming in for the upcoming semester.” second semester.” Calvey said he has worked with
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SA Treasurer Husam Salem for several months and has gained hands-on experience. Calvey said money allocation should be done in a “performance-based” manner and student groups must hit goals to receive a certain amount of funds. “Organizations can come in and sit down with their budget and wants ... and they can come in and show us how they want the money ...,” Calvey said. “There should be a criteria on how they’re going to get the money.” Student trustee Raquel Chavez is running unopposed for student trustee, a position on the Board of Trustees, the governing body of NIU. Chavez plans to attend graduate school at NIU in the fall and push for NIU to increase student recruitment. She herself said she was not recruited by NIU. “Our enrollment efforts, our recruitment efforts and our retention efforts need to be increased,” Chavez said. “... I think Northern is missing out on opportunities to gain students by not going to college fairs. I think that we really need to push admissions to go out with these things.”
Election updates
Get updates on voting, turnout, election results and more when you go to NorthernStar.info. Follow the Star as @NIUNorthernStar and News Editor Jackie Nevarez as @NevarezJackie for 24/7 updates.