Editor’s Note: This piece was updated to reflect that Hensley stated that he issued 3 warnings, not 33.

DeKALB – Students filled the back rows of Friday’s SGA meeting, awaiting the approval of a statement addressing SGA’s position on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

The language of the statement addressed SGA’s neutrality in the conflict but highlighted the pressing need for the association’s statement.

“What this is just doing, it’s not taking a side; it’s not saying one side is right, one side is wrong,” Deputy Speaker Chris English said. “Instead, what it’s doing is standing for those who are suffering and showing support to students on this campus that their voices are heard, and NIU is a safe space.”

SGA was prompted by Palestinian students and students who “support Palestinian resistance” who felt the SGA and the university were “disregarding the ongoing crisis,” according to the meeting’s agenda.

Mujtaba Ali, a junior computer science major and member of the Muslim Student Association, said the statement will be significant for Muslim students, primarily Muslim women, and the entire university.

“I know plenty of Muslims that even on campus have been approached and hate crimed and hate speeched, like, talking to already,” Mujtaba said. “And it’s not just one, two, like, it’s been a couple instances, and we need something to be passed for protection for our woman because for the man, it is harder to tell who’s Muslim or not because we don’t go by race, color, but for a woman, it’s easier to tell. I want there to be something that finds protection for us all.”

The resolution outlined that the SGA recognized the “brutalization” Palestinians have endured under Israel’s occupation, dating back to 1948. SGA’s address recognized Israel’s control over Palestine’s economics and its “caste system” which stripped many of the basic human rights to influence its control over Gaza.

In relation to current events, the statement recognized the Palestinian people’s right to defend themselves against “colonialism and apartheid.”

The statement outlines the SGA’s condemnation of any behavior or actions that would invalidate those grieving from the war’s current events which branched out to those of Jewish and/or Israeli origin as well.

The issuing of this statement would also denounce any Islamophobia, antisemitism and any words of hate toward anyone of Palestinian, Arab, Jewish, Muslim and any allied people involved.

Discussions from the Senate led the resolution to be tabled to next week’s meeting. English, one of the authors of the resolution, tabled the resolution because he felt it needed “more in-depth discussion” from the Senate and other NIU parties.

The current authors include English and Senator Maria Sofia with the aid of NIU’s Muslim Student Association and Arab Student Association.

Senator Jeremy Yuen expressed a need for the Jewish Student Association to have a voice in the statement, which English agreed with and said he had previously contacted the organization before the resolution was presented.

“What that’s gonna look like is me and Sophia will probably work with the Muslim Student Association, the Arab Student Association, the Jewish Student Association, if they get back to us,” English said.

English also noted that NIU officials, Clint-Michael Reneau, vice president of student affairs, and Carol Sumner, vice president and chief diversity officer, will also be included in the revisions.

A petition would additionally be spread to NIU administration and the public requesting NIU to provide campus resources, including mental health or educational outlets, for those affected by the conflicts.

Malik Hall, a senior marketing major, respected the SGA’s choice to push the discussion but said he worried the revisions would “water down” the message’s original intent.

“I hope that the discussion does not stray far away from what the original intent of the article, or the thing that was being passed is about,” Hall said. “Because I was looking at the way that it was worded now and it’s very like, I like the way it’s worded, and I feel like in an effort to make it more neutral, it kind of waters down the web of what’s happening, you know, if that makes sense.”

The resolution was tabled to be voted at the next Nov. 10 SGA meeting.

THREE WARNINGS GIVEN TO SGA DIRECTORS

Speaker of the Senate Cole Hensley reported that a number of written warnings were given out to SGA directors the week prior and said he is worried the Senate would be seeing more.

“Last week, there were three warnings given out to directors, and I’m sure there will be more to follow in the future,” Hensley said.

Sophomore biological science major Matt Robinson and freshman business major Nicholas Lazaric were inducted as senators for the College of Health and Human Sciences and for Students At-Large respectively.

Robinson said his intentions for the role were to improve student retention and improve community engagement if he were elected.

“My overall goal is to try and improve retention and attendance here at NIU,” Robinson said. “Just a few years ago, NIU had a population of 24,000 students, and now the numbers have dropped to around 13,000 students. I mean, there are ways that we can reactivate the community and the student body, and overall just improving the experience of what it is to be a Huskie.”

Lazaric focused on his commitment to the financial hold of SGA if he assumed the role. His goals in his speech involved possibly downsizing the number of emails students received in their inboxes and fixing the ETA Spot app that tracks the Huskie Bus line.

“So, let’s say 2L’s running, but it gets logged on the app as a 2R route, which would cause a lot of frustration with students and also their attendance with classes,” Lazaric said. “Really mess up all the timings, make them late to class, maybe even if you skip it overall.”

Both students were elected with a 7-2-0 vote separately and were awarded their positions.

The SGA went on to approve the stipend for the 2024 Board of Elections members to be set at $1,500 with a 7-0-4 vote.

SGA meetings are open to the public and held at 2 p.m. on Fridays, with locations posted in the senate’s agendas. SGA minutes and intent to speak forms are available on Huskie Hub.