Students’ rights are being ignored.

The Board of Regents will soon have another voting member among its cadre to represent NIU. However, they are neglecting someone.

NIU has always had a representative—a student representative. The representative is called a student regent, but is not being used to its full potential.

The student regent’s purpose is to represent the students. The position was created so students would have a direct representative who would know current student concerns.

The student regent is the one Board member who is in the middle of students every day and can see and hear first-hand what students want and need.

But the Board pushed those students’ concerns aside when it decided the student regents didn’t get to vote.

Although the Board decided to make an NIU alumnus a voting regent, student regents are better-qualified to voice present student problems.

The Board has final say where money for the universities is allocated, and many times that includes student money for student programs.

The student regent is the only member that has first-hand knowledge of the student’s point of view.

No matter how closely the voting members of the Board follow events at NIU, they cannot overcome the insight the student regent possesses.