DeKALB — Three student organizations were granted supplemental funds at Sunday’s SGA meeting: The Black Student Union, the National Society for Black Engineers and the Exercise Science Club.

The Senate voted to allocate $2,960 to the Black Student Union for its Mr. and Miss Freshmen BSU Pageant, which will be March 1 at the Duke Ellington Ballroom.

“This pageant is basically for incoming [first-year students] who are interested in being involved on campus, as well as building a platform for anything that they want to change,” Carmorroa Siggers, treasurer of the Black Student Union, said.

The funds will be used to cover rental costs for the Duke Ellington Ballroom, which amount to $1,400, and tuxedos for the five male pageant contestants, Siggers said.

NIU’s chapter of the National Society for Black Engineers received $8,900 to send 15 of its members to the NSBE 46th Annual National Convention in San Antonio from March 25 to March 29. The funds will be used for transportation and registration purposes, according to the request document.

“This convention brings out more than 14,000 precollegiate, collegiate and professional demographics from all six regions,” Jennifer Oduwole, treasurer of NIU’s chapter of NSBE, said. “It is the largest NSBE event and … [a] really great opportunity to meet with employers to do a lot of corporate sponsorships … and it is also a way for us to become stronger candidates in the workforce.”

The Exercise Science Club was granted $1,000 to cover lodging expenses for 10 members so they can attend the annual Abominable Snow Race event March 14 at Devil’s Head Resort in Merrimac, Wisconsin.

“[This event is] a good way for kinesiology students, or Exercise Science Club members, to … actually reach out and build professional relationships,” Francisco Arellano-Aguilera, president of the Exercise Science Club, said.

Furthermore, the NIU chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery was granted official recognition as a student organization by the Senate. The purpose of ACM is to foster the advancement of knowledge and interest in modern computing and its applications, according to the chapter’s bylaws.

“What we do as officers is allow various [presenters] from different organizations and different job offerings to come on up [to NIU],” Derek Drackley, secretary and treasurer for NIU’s chapter of ACM, said. “They’ll provide insight into their job … They’ll teach about various topics that our department might have not been able to teach students, [and] they’ll talk about various internships and job opportunities.”

An additional bill that would grant recognition to NIU’s chapter of Lambda Pi Eta has been tabled for a vote Sunday during the SGA’s next meeting.