Student Association President Paula Radtke condemned the Board of Regents Sunday for their secret arrangement to give former NIU President Clyde Wingfield a year off with pay.

“I would like to see the senate pass a resolution condemning the Regents’ actions,” Radtke said at an informal meeting of the SA senate Sunday.

The 10 senators present agreed to the resolution, but it will not be official because 15 senators are needed for a quorum.

Taxpayers in the state are paying for Wingfield not to be at NIU, Radtke said in her first report to the senate since being sworn in two hours earlier. “It is not good for the university. I’d rather see (Wingfield) here.”

Under the arrangement with the Regents, Wingfield will take a position with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington D.C. while he is on a paid leave of absence from NIU.

Radtke also expressed displeasure with the state legislature’s failure to pass a tax increase for higher education. She said the Regents would be deciding upon a $75 to $200 mid-semester tuition increase at NIU at their September board meeting.

The decision to raise tuition is “fairly arbitrary,” Radtke said. “The administration decides what they need, not students who are the consumers.”

The Regents want more than a 5.7 percent increase for faculty pay raises and might increase tuition to cover the additional cost, Radtke said.

SA vice president Gregg Bliss said in his first report to the senate that he would look into revising the senate’s operating procedures. Ideas include more training for new senators and the installation of a sergeant of arms to keep order during SA meetings.

In other business, the SA discussed a proposal to reallocate student senate seats, although a vote will have to wait until the fall when the full senate returns.