The Students for the Freedom of Martha Palmer held a press conference Monday in the Holmes Student Center gallery to publicly discuss their opinions about recent controversial issues involving NIU and the Board of Regents.

The students opened the discussion with their “concrete plans” for a demonstration which will be held outside and inside of Wednesday’s Regents meeting at NIU.

Tom Rainey, a SFMP member, said at the press conference that the student organization would begin a demonstration at 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday in the student center’s Pow Wow cafeteria. He said the demonstration would last until shortly after 11 a.m., when the students would march upstairs and interrupt the Regents’ meeting in the Skyroom. However, according to the Regents’ schedule, their meeting is not set to begin until 1:30 p.m.

Rainey said the students will protest the firing of CHANCE counselor Martha Palmer and make demands that the Regents re-hire Palmer, increase the number of latino, black and female faculty and increase the retention of latino and black students.

He also said the students will demand that the Regents drop the ACT, SAT and GRE test score requirements for admission into the university because the tests are racially and ethnically biased.

Julie Stege, another SFMP member, said the students also believe the Regents have taken “curious actions” regarding the Palmer issue and the situation of Sangamon State University President Durward Long.

Long was granted a 60-day absence for alcohol abuse and extreme fatigue effective Sept. 5 and recently was accused of sexual harassment by seven SSU professors.

Stege said the Regents should be put on trial for negligence because “those who have filed charges against (Long) must prove his guilt before any actions will be taken, and in the meantime he is receiving a hefty salary from the pockets of Illinois taxpayers. But Martha Palmer has been assumed guilty by the Regents and the administration of NIU. She must prove her innocence before any actions can be taken.”

Although Palmer’s time is filled trying to help inner-city Chicago students adapt to NIU’s campus and working for equity for faculty, staff and students, the Regents do not believe she is “vital enough to the NIU community to warrant their intervention in her renewal,” Stege said.

Contrary to their beliefs about Palmer, Stege said the Regents believe they should be “humane and understanding” toward Long because he has a disease and the alleged harassments occurred while he was drinking.

SFMP member Jim Fabris said that although the students also will make demands that money be allocated to the university, the organization will support the funding cuts if it will help to retain Palmer.