Welcome to NIU, home of the Huskies, a student-run bus service which is Illinois’ second most active, a diverse student body, and a strong student government. Whether you are a new freshman or transfer student, or a continuing graduate or undergraduate student, there are issues at NIU that will most definitely affect you this year. As the president of the Student Association, your student government, I feel obliged to forewarn you as to the hazards you face as an NIU student.

Last spring, only 60 percent of NIU’s students received complete schedules. This year, like last, there will be some problems in providing the necessary classes that students need to meet university requirements. Some of you may have already noticed this when you received your fall schedules and classes you had registered for were cancelled.

If you did get the classes you requested, you were one of the lucky ones. Due to budget cuts, the sociology department has been forced to reduce SOCI 170 from 14 to six sections, the music department has not been able to replace the 10 percent of faculty lost over the past two years and the communications department turned away three students for every one it admitted.

On the first day of classes, you will most likely notice classes in which there are more people than you expected, perhaps more people than is reasonable for an effective learning environment. Departments are offering more and more mass lectures and fewer classes with low faculty-to-student ratios. In the marketing department, four of the five core courses for a marketing major are offered as mass lecture courses. There is nothing worse than competing with 59 other students for a professor’s attention or extra help on a difficult assignment.

That is assuming, of course, that you are fortunate enough to get a class that is taught by a professor. Last year, due to insufficient funding of this institution, more than 90 faculty members left. Because the state of Illinois has a reputation for underfunding its universities, it has become increasingly difficult to attract professors to NIU. Many of those faculty members who have left have been replaced by part-time instructors or graduate assistants. The value of a 20-person class taught by a professor cannot be compared to a 70-person class taught by a graduate assistant.

If you are assigned research papers in the few classes you may be enrolled in, you may experience some difficulty finding the necessary materials in the library. Last year, the library stopped purchasing new books about halfway through the year. Its periodicals budget has been cut significantly, so don’t even look for some of the more diverse journals that might have an article on the exact topic you’re researching. It also may be difficult to find assistance, as the library is unable to fill six full-time positions due to the limited funding.

Wait, don’t despair—not only are the services offered to you, the student, being reduced—their cost is increasing. Last year, tuition increased $150 per semester. That’s $300 per year. Out tuition is likely to follow a similar route this September when our governing board votes to increase it again. I entered NIU four years ago and since then, my tuition has increased 53 percent. Neither wages nor financial aid have increased by that percentage.

We are in this dire predicament because the state of Illinois, in all its wisdom, refuses to adequately fund higher education. Although Illinois is the ninth richest state in the country in terms of per capita income, we are fiftieth in terms of funding higher education. This means that states with substantially less income spend considerably more on higher education than we do. Obviously, the quality of higher education will suffer as a result of this fiscal irresponsibility.

All is not lost, however. You can help to save yourself from a low quality, high cost education. The first thing you can do is register to vote. The Student Association will be hosting voter registration tables during late registration, add/drop and Friday Fest inside and outside the Holmes Student Center. All you need to do is to vote on Nov. 8. If you aren’t sure who you should vote for, the SA will be providing information on how each candidate stands on key student-related issues.

The SA can provide you with the opportunity to make changes in the university’s operation. The SA appoints students to over 20 university committees, almost all of which make policies that concern students. Last year, student representation proved to be invaluable when the students stopped the closing of a student parking lot, when students intiated a change in the grade appeal process, and when students fought to maintain their “tailgating” rights.

The SA serves as a link between students and the administration. We are accountable only to students. The SA cannot be a static organization if we are to adequately serve the needs of students. To do an effective job we need your input. Without a united front, students will continue to suffer from people removed from our situation making decisions that affect us. Have a good semester…