About $27,000 will be allocated to Health Enhancement Services to pay for one health educator’s salary, the Student Association Finance Committee voted Wednesday.

The funding was part of the service’s total request of $28,292 that was approved by the committee. The SA senate must vote on final approval of the request.

Dr. Rosemary Lane, University Health Service director, said the salary of the health educator has “never been built into (the health service) salary structure.”

The $27,000 will be used for Health Educator Steve Lux’s salary.

In July 1982, the corporate program Health Education and Primary Prevention Services, known as Mother Sunshine, dissolved and its assets were donated in the form of money and equipment to NIU. As a result, Health Enhancement Services was formed, Lux said.

The SA funded the Mother Sunshine program and agreed to continue funding the program and Lux’s salary because it was an “easy way” for the SA to support the Health Enhancement Services, Lux said.

Two employees transferred from the corporate program which served between 65 and 75 percent of NIU students, he said.

Lux’s health educator position was formed “to design, implement and evaluate disease prevention and health promotion for the student body,” he said.

Health Enhancement Services is a department of the University Health Service. Lux said the department wants to promote healthy lifestyles, prevent diseases and educate people in these areas.

Some areas covered by the service are sexual health issues, exercise and fitness, food and nutrition, stress relaxation and personal health and self-care issues, he said.

The services educate people about sexually transmitted disease, contraception and safe sex by visiting residence halls and publishing weekly columns in the Northern Star, Lux said.

The services also provide training and work experience for students interested in health professions, he said.

The remainder of the money would be used for salaries for student help and advertising, he said.

In other business, the Black Student Union’s budget request will be used to print advertisements, flyers, posters and their publication Lifeline, BSU President Pam Bozeman said.

“We realize the SA is in a bind for certain funding,” she said, and they are asking for only what they need.

The two-year-old NIU Chess Club requested $393 from the committee, Chess Club President David Dathe said. The money would be used to defer costs for travel and food to compete in tournaments. The tournaments are for exposure to national competition, he said.

Dathe said the club is not asking for money for overnight stays or for tournaments more than a few hours away. Players would compete in tournaments in Rockford and Chicago. “We are trying to be very practical,” he said.

Money from the SA also would be used for advertisement in the Northern Star and to print flyers with information about the club, he said.

There are about 25 members in the club, 10 of whom are frequent players.

The InterFraternity and the Panhellenic Councils requested a combined total of about $4,400 and the Finance subcommittee recommended about $3500, Greek Activities Adviser Jeff Cufaude said.

The budget was tabled and IFC/Panhel will meet with the SA Finance Committee Saturday at 12 p.m. for review.