Skeptism concerning Student Association executive powers emerged after the SA decided to hold an “initiative” to discover if students would pay a $2.40 annual fee supporting The Northern Star.

NIU Student Regent Nick Valadez said he will ask the SA Senate at Sunday’s meeting to add an “initiative” to the April 5 and 6 SA Executive elections ballot.

Though Valadez does not need the senate’s approval to hold an initiative, he said he wants their approval to ensure that the SA agrees to hold the initiative, which will indicate whether or not students want to pay an additional 10 cents per credit hour per semester.

Northern Star Editor Paul Wagner said he is against the Star fee being added to the elections ballot because he wants to keep politics away from the issue.

Pressure might be put on SA presidential candidates who are trying to get the Star’s endorsement to support a fee, Wagner said.

SA Vice President Gregg Bliss said an initiative is an executive power which “is initiated by the government and put before the people.”

Guidelines for implementing an initiative do not exist in written form, Bliss said.

Wagner said because written rules are not defined for an initiative, the Star will not acknowledge the outcome. He said it is a “double standard” that the SA can hold an initiative when ever they want when others need to obtain about 3,000 student signatures to hold a referendum.

The SA Bill of Rights states, “The right to establish and maintain a democratic student government, in which each student shall have an equal right to participate and with provision for recall, referendum and initiative,” does exist.

The SA bylaws also vaguely give the SA executives the power to hold an initiative. The bylaws state that the executives are permitted to “investigate issues of student interest using senate and non-senate persons.”

A referendum noramlly is held to discover if students support a certain issue, Valadez said. Petitions from 5 percent of the student population are required before a student or an organization can hold a referendum.

An initiative is being held instead of a referendum because of tme restraints, Valadez said.

Wagner said there was not enough time before the SA elections to get the required number of signatures.

The senate is under the assumption that students do not want to pay the Star fee, Valadez said.

However, a survey conducted by NIU’s Public Opinion Lab showed that 52 percent of students support a separate fee for the Star and 75 percent read the Star four to five times a week.

The survey was presented at the March Board of Regents meeting, which shed new light on the issue, Valadez said.

The initiative is for the “SA to find out for themselves” what students want, Valadez said. If students want the fee, the SA will attempt to find a compromise about the requested Star fee, he said.

Valadez said the SA does not approve of a student fee to support the Star but said if students are willing to pay the fee, the SA will help in the implementation of the fee.

“Personally, I’m against the (Star) fee, but I’m willing to accept what the students want,” Valadez said.

The Star fee was brought before the Regents at its March meeting by a request from President LaTourette. The fee was tabled by the board until its April meeting.

On Feb. 14, the fee also failed to pass the President’s Fee Study Committee. Valadez said he opposses the fee partly because it did not follow proper fee approval proceedures.

The committee reviews requests for new and increased student fees and recommends their fee approvals to the Regents for final approval. Valadez said fees that fail the committee usually do not go before the Regents.