Giving the Student Association more credibility is one of several changes planned since the new SA administration took over July 1.

SA President Huda Scheidelman said she wants to “improve the credibility of the SA,” pledging to be a more responsible leader in order to avoid the internal problems experienced by members of the SA in 1988-89.

In connection with improving leadership, Scheidelman said that before students are appointed to SA committees, she will make sure they are dedicated. Last year, she said there was a problem with student committee members not attending their assigned committee meetings.

Additionally, Scheidelman said, “SPEAC (the SA Student Political Education and Action Committee) will expand to focus on national and international issues.”

The committee will educate students on issues and act on those issues when appropriate, she added.

New SPEAC Chairman John Garvey was unable to be reached for comment, but Scheidelman said another goal of the committee is to have students lobby in Springfield for bills that affect students.

Scheidelman said lobbying is “not easy to do,” but added dedicated students can lobby effectively.

Bills that affect students also are monitored by the NIU Student Regent who newly was appointed at the June 3 SA Senate summer session. Student Regent Robert Tisch said his goals are “institutional in some sense.”

Tisch said his goals encompass representing students’ views to the Board of Regents, NIU’s governing board. The specifics of the job will be determined by legislation approved in Springfield, Tisch said, adding that the receipt of more funding for higher education or the possibility of tuition increases will determine how much lobbying he will have to do before the legislature.

Scheidelman said she also would like to reinstate an old SA committee that was in session in 1983 but since, has not been activated.

The committee, Student Committee on Financial Aid, would work with NIU’s financial aid office to better serve students with financial aid matters, Scheidelman said. Having a financial aid committee is in the SA bylaws, and she said she hopes to create a committee soon.

The SA Tenant Union is expected to undergo changes at the beginning of the fall semester, said newly appointed Tenant Union Advsier Brian Subatich. He said the title for the position will change from tenant union adviser to community relations adviser.

Additional duties for the position include increasing contact with the DeKalb City Council on issues that affect students, Subatich said. For example, parking spaces recently were removed along Normal Road near the Founders Memorial Library. He said he would investigate situations such as this and decide if the decision better serves student interest.

Lobbying city council on issues that affect students will be another job for the adviser of the new position, Subatich said.

Other goals he said he will attain include surveying students’ opinions of their apartments and landlords, addressing issues from rent to how quickly repairs were completed.

The top three rated apartment complexes advertise in The Northern Star and other places for students’ reference, Subatich said.

In the fall, a housing bazaar will take place for students to look at different apartment complexes, Subatich said. Between six and 25 landlords attend the bazaar from year to year, he said.