Equal voting power is the name of the game.

With the addition of two alumni to the Board of Regents, some say it would make sense to give the student board members voting power to equalize privileges.

Until the alumni seats are filled, the board has nine members and three non-voting students. The NIU and Illinois State University alumni will be voting members.

As things stand now,”the student members can participate in every way except voting,” said J. Carroll Moody, executive ecretary of the University Council, which reports to the board.

NIU Student Regent Jim Mertes said “the next logical step in the progression toward shared governance is to allow student regents to vote.”

“Students should have a legitimate voice on the governing board that oversees them,” he said.

Sangamon State University Student Regent James Smylie said he hopes to gain such voting power since “students have such a big stake in the (regency) system as a whole.”

The board governs NIU, ISU in Bloomington and SSU in Springfield.