Six John Lennon Society members joined the Student Political Education and Action Committee March 7 to plan a mass meeting for a possible Day of Action III.

JLS member Ed Bluma said the previous Days of Action received a lot of attention even though the events did not improve the situation of college students very much.

JLS member Tom Rainey said he wants to discuss the actions and the message for Day of Action III.

JLS member Julie Stege said a nationwide Day of Action III is planned for April 19. She said Illinois State University in Normal, the University of Illinois in Chicago and Kent State University in Ohio have planned events for April 19.

A statewide Day of Action was held Oct. 21, 1987, to protest Gov. James Thompson’s budget and its reduced funding of higher education. A second Day of Action was held April 13, 1988, to protest a $125 tuition increase. During both events, protestors blocked Lincoln Highway to demonstrate their displeasure with legislators.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in the Pow Wow Room in the lower level of the Holmes Student Center.

SPEAC Acting Chairman Phill Buoscio said many diverse groups should attend the meeting so students “can move forward together.”

Students representing the NIU greek community, the Black Student Union, the College Republicans, the Young Democrats and the ROTC should be invited to attend the meeting, SPEAC member Mark Brierton said.

Rainey said the meeting should focus on discussion of the idea—rather than tactics—to insure that an effective message is relayed to state legislators.

“Last year, there was too much focus on what to do and not on the idea,” Stege said. Ideas need to be the focus of the meeting so students can decide the type of university they want, she said.

“Do we want money that the university wastes?” Stege questioned. She gave two examples of NIU’s waste of money—$80,000 for the sabbatical of former NIU President and current political science professor Clyde Wingfield and NIU Provost Kendall Baker driving a Porsche.

SPEAC member Mike Murvihill said he believes large demonstrations are effective. He said that in the 1960s, demonstrations were effective because society was experiencing changes, but society is not going through identical changes in the 1980s.

Murvihill said, “I don’t think it’s (Day of Action III) such a great idea. We need to educate students about something that will make a difference.”

However, Rainey said it is not just the demonstration that produces change. He said students have the right to receive funding for higher education and they should stand up for their rights.

SPEAC members Gary Stittgen and Buoscio said they support a Day of Action III.