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Monday, November 23, 2015
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Perspective
How do you feel about the sudden change in weather?
Unplug electronics before leaving for break
Kara Mercer Columnist
The weather outside is frightful, and I’m very disappointed that fall has been cut off and strangled by an abundance of white, cold, mushy stuff. Clearly I was wrong in thinking I would have more time to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall the rest of the
Faith Mellenthin Columnist
Hanna Markezich | Northern Star
A sudden drop in temperature provided no time to adjust to winter weather, but living in DeKalb requires this kind of preparation. Even though many people broke out their heavy jackets for the first time, nobody should be completely surprised. Illinois consistently has inconsistent
semester and when I have Thanksgiving with my family over break. It looks like we’ll be enjoying a white Thanksgiving instead. Snow is so beautiful, but I’d prefer all the snow later on in December. Since classes are still in session, students are going to have to walk through the snow and in the cold to class. Driving around in the snow is also dangerous. People will be traveling for the holiday to see family, and while the highways are typically well salted, it still increases the danger. It may look pretty, but this winter wonderland is a hassle in disguise. weather that residents have learned to work around. The night it snowed, I was still able to warm up my car and drive it down the streets on campus because they were already cleared off. The maintenance of roads and sidewalks is the most impressive thing about living on a busy winter campus. I hope students don’t dwell on the chilly wind and the extra few minutes it takes to clear the snow off their cars or put on an extra jacket. Complaining about being cold won’t change the fact that this happens every year. It’s during this freezing weather that NIU begins to take on a remarkably pretty atmosphere.
Closed SA vote shows lack of transparency Northern Star Editorial Board
A dangerous tone has been set in the wake of a recent SA Senate closed meeting. Senators met Sunday night to decide whether or not to remove SA Vice President Reggie Bates from office — all behind closed doors (The results of the impeachment and charges Bates faced were not available at press time). SA Speaker Dillon Domke and Timothy Brandner, SA Sergeant at Arms, have informed the Northern Star they do not think the Illinois Open Meetings Act — an act that requires most meetings and all final action of public bodies to be conducted in public — applies to the SA Senate because it is not a public body as defined by the act, and if it were, it is exempt from voting in an open session. Beyond that, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents the SA Senate from disclosing educational records to the public, Brandner said before the senators went into the closed meeting Sunday.
Northern Star Campus Life Building, Room 130 545 Lucinda Ave. DeKalb, Ill., 60115 Web: www.NorthernStar.info Fax: 815-753-0708 Editorial Board Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board; columns reflect the opinion of the author alone. Editor in Chief & Publisher: Keith Hernandez Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0105 Managing Editor: Sabreena Saleem Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0177 News Editor: Jackie Nevarez Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9643
Domke said the SA Senate will release the results of the vote and the charges after the meeting. We respectfully disagree with these reasons. Any vote must be conducted in public for the best interests of the SA Senate and the students who have elected SA senators. After conducting our due diligence, we would like to break down these reasonings and share our thoughts.
The SA Senate is a public body The Northern Star believes the SA Senate is a public body because it receives funding from and serves in the shared governance process as an advisory body to NIU, which is a state institution. “’Public body’ includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State,” according to the Open Meetings Act. Most of the SA Senate’s funding comes from NIU through NIU approved student fees. The SA acts as a legislative body in this respect because it has final say on what to do with the funding it receives Digital Editor: Margaret Maka Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9644 Sports Editor: Chris Loggins Sports@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9637 Scene Editor: Darius Parker Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-5606 Photo Editor: Hayley Montalvo Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-1602 Assistant News Editor: Alex Chettiath Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-9643 Assistant Perspective Editor: Angela Pagan Editor@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0177
from a state institution. An example of this decision-making power is the $1,068 it approved in supplemental funding for Black Male Initiative during a Nov. 8 SA Senate meeting.
Final action is not exempt from the Illinois Open Meetings Act An SA meeting can be exempt from being held in public because of concerns about the privacy or rights of individuals being under the danger or unwarranted invasion in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. Brandner said there are concerns about retaliation against senators for voting a certain way in the vice president’s impeachment. The Northern Star agrees the SA Senate can talk about anything in a closed meeting that is exempt from an open meeting; however, this exception does not exempt the SA Senate from voting in public. “A public body may hold closed meetings to consider the following subjects,” according to a provision in the Open Meetings Act under Other Advertising Manager: Derek Noel Ads@NorthernStar.info 815-753-0108 Circulation Manager: Andrew Parnell 815-753-0707 Adviser: Shelley Hendricks 815-753-4239 Business Adviser: Maria Krull 815-753-0707 Departments Newsroom: 815-753-0105 or editor@ northernstar.info Advertising: 815-753-0107 or ads@ northernstar.info Classifieds: 815-753-0707 About us The Northern Star is a limited public
which exceptions fall. The key word here is “consider,” not decide. The Northern Star does not request the SA Senate stop holding closed meetings for things it has every right to hold closed meetings for. It only asks that votes be conducted in public.
The SA Senate will not violate FERPA if it holds an open vote Again, the Northern Star is not demanding the SA open closed sessions. The Northern Star only demands a vote be cast publicly. To say the SA Senate will violate FERPA by voting openly on the removal of a public figure from office is to say the SA Senate is violating FERPA every time senators vote publicly. “FERPA covers only confidential education records maintained by the university,” said Frank LoMonte, director of the Student Press Law Center. “FERPA does not cover facts that come from a source other than the student’s education records. ... If the facts come from any other source, forum whose content is determined exclusively by its student editors. Information presented in this newspaper and its website is not controlled by NIU administration, faculty or staff. The Northern Star has a circulation of 10,000 Mondays and Thursdays. It publishes online at NorthernStar.info every day. A single copy of the Northern Star is free. Additional copies are 50 cents. Letters to the editor Letters should not exceed 300 words and may be edited for clarity and brevity. The deadline for a letter is 4 p.m. one day before the desired date of publication. Submissions may be held due to space limitations. Letters written by students should include the author’s year and major. Letters should include a phone number where the author can be reached. Phone numbers will not be published. Letters may be submitted to Editor@NorthernStar.info.
including from the student’s own mouth, those facts are not a matter of FERPA secrecy.” The Northern Star is not requesting an open vote to observe SA senators in their capacity as students, but in their capacity as publicly elected officials. The same goes for whatever charges, if any, Bates faced. Closed votes are bad politics Holding open voting is just a good way to conduct business in a democracy. The NIU students who voted to put their representatives in office deserve to know how their representatives are voting. How else are public officials, who claim to represent students in the shared governance process, supposed to be held accountable? SA elections are held openly, it meets openly, its members speak openly, it votes openly and it shares its budget openly, but now it wants to close its doors. It is paramount that those who practice lawmaking also practice transparency. Advertisement policy The Northern Star does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, handicapped or veteran status, or sexual orientation. Nor does the Northern Star knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws. To place an advertisement, contact the Northern Star advertising team at 815753-0108 or ads@NorthernStar.info. To view advertising rates, go to NorthernStar.info/site/advertise/. Hiring Student employees must carry a minimum of six NIU semester hours and must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. Students of all majors and experience levels are welcome to apply. Apply at bit.ly/1QahfYd Social Media Facebook.com/NIUNorthernStar