Student Association officials are fuming over what they say is an attempt by the administration to shrink from their responsibility and put it on students.

The SA reaction comes from an announcement by NIU Insurance Manager Norbert Jacobs that NIU will no longer pay the insurance for the SA art collection after covering it for 22 years.

Jacobs said if the SA picks up the coverage, it could cost them $1,300 to $1,500 for their collection, valued at $210,000. He said he told SA officials about the decision in a meeting last week.

“I realize it is short notice, (but) unfortunately we had no idea of the extent of the collection,” Jacobs said.

The SA senate, after a speech by an angry SA Treasurer Mike Holy, passed a resolution during Sunday’s meeting condemning the decision.

“I am not sure about exactly what is going to be done, but I know for one thing that I am extremely angry about this in the manner in which it was done and the fact that it was done in the first place,” Holy said at the meeting.

Holy said the news about the art insurance caught him completely unaware because the administration had not told him about the change in insurance until the meeting.

Jacobs apologized about the last-minute decision, but said he did not read the $210,000 appraisal of the SA art collection until two weeks ago. Holy said the appraisal was finished in February.

Currently, the nearly $5,000 paid for art insurance by NIU covers $710,000 worth of other campus art, including the art at the NIU Art Museum, Jacobs said.

But the value of SA art had never been included in the insurance coverage even though the insurance would pay for any damage or theft done to the student art, he said.

Jacobs claims the university should not have to insure an SA art collection that has such a high value.

“It could be that nothing is going to happen (to the art pieces), but then the roof could fall in,” Jacobs said.

The SA is looking for some way to deal with the sudden change in NIU policy. There is only one senate meeting left to approve money for art insurance, and having no insurance could result in taking the art off the walls, Holy said.

Student art is displayed in various offices throughout campus including the Holmes Student Center Browsing Room and the Student Association office.

Besides the cost of the student art, Jacobs also expressed concern about the security of the SA art collection. Compared to the SA collection storage room, the NIU Art Museum is secure, with burglar alarms to prevent damage to the art, he said.