The Student Association Ad Hoc Parking Committee today will present the University Parking Committee with a proposal the SA believes will benefit both students and faculty.

At Sunday’s SA Senate meeting Henry Winsor, the student appointee to the university committee, said the proposal was prepared by students “in response to examination of the permit/space ratios.”

Suggested changes in the parking system include eliminating most brown permit lots and switching them to yellow lots.

Brown permits are issued to students who live within the bus zone. Brown lots also might be used by people with other permits if those lots are full.

Yellow stickers are given to commuters and students living outside the bus zone.

SA Committee Co-chairman Dave Stern said the SA proposal was “fair to everyone. The ratios (of people looking for spaces to space available) will be lowest in all permit categories.”

Stern and Winsor created the proposal as an alternative to university committee recommendations which might be sent to NIU President John LaTourette for approval.

Stern said the university committee will review four recommendations at today’s meeting. The recommendations include prohibiting students with brown permits from parking on-campus before 4 p.m. and designating on-street parking west of Annie Glidden Road as staff and commuter parking.

The university committee also recommends raising parking permit fees. Student permits would be raised from $7 to $30, faculty/staff permits from $10 to $35 and red reserved spaces from $125 to $300, plus applicable permit fee.

Stern said, “Students need to stop the university committee from sending these recommendations to the president’s committee. The university has not been considering the needs of the students adequately.”

SA Sen. Dave Hochberg asked Winsor if handicapped students and faculty would have to pay $300 for a reserved space.

Winsor said, “I think the handicapped should have to pay for a reserved space. Handicapped Services, however, might pay the $300 above the permit cost.”

Winsor said the possibility should be looked into before the recommendation is passed. “I don’t think it’s fair to make the handicapped pay for something that isn’t their fault. We should find out about it now, or next fall (the handicapped) will be sent to committee after committee.”

Stern encouraged students not to park illegally. “Two-thirds of the Parking Division’s revenue is from fines. Parking illegally just feeds the system and encourages the administration not to do anything about the parking problem.”

In other business, SA President Jim Fischer said the Illinois Student Association will be hiring five student interns for the summer.

Also, the University Council is considering a proposal to cut SA representation on the Athletic Board by 65 percent, Fischer said. “This absolutely rids student representation. It’s a very serious problem.”