The Student Association will mourn this week and urge students to grieve with them for the loss of academic excellence and intellectual integrity.

“What ‘Day of Mourning’ is about is an opportunity for students to get together to show we’re not happy. We haven’t given up,” said Public Relations Adviser Rebecca Bahr.

“We’re going to have a memorial service for the passing away of academic excellence and intellectual integrity,” Bahr said.

“We want to get the message down to the state legislators that the students are angry and don’t want to pay for new buildings and capital projects,” she said.

Graduate student Thomas Gary said some of the administration’s projects could be considered to have merit in the long run; however, now is not a good time.

Gary said this “Day of Mourning” is about working on raising awareness.

“In the past couple of years, there’s been this feeling of loss. We students have taken a much more passive role. That’s not the way it has to be,” he said.

Jodie English, SA recreation adviser, said she thinks this is something students will want to get involved in.

English said she talked with state legislators and hopes some will go to the ceremony. English said she explained it’s not that NIU needs more money, it needs more money in the right places.

She said she will focus on the way the administration and faculty offices function. There are more secretaries serving administrators than there are secretaries serving faculty members. If the faculty is forced to cut costs, the administration also should, she said.

Student Committee On Financial Aid Adviser Maurice Thomas said he thinks academics is important. He said he feels the integrity of the institution is at stake.

“We need to start working together because excellence is achieved by striving together,” Thomas said.

He said “Day of Mourning” is about students coming together to express their concern. It is a firm expression of concern, he said.

He said he supports “Day of Mourning” because he thinks the university’s priorities need to be re-evaluated.

“If you start weighing money over academics, in that sense, you are killing the lives of our future generations,” Thomas said.

“You can tax us. You can charge us this tuition, but don’t think we’re going to like it,” Gary said.

Services will be held Thursday at noon in the King Memorial Commons.