The Student Association has taken the first step toward gaining more control of Holmes Student Center operations by electing Senator David Stern as chairman for the HSC Ad Hoc Advisory Committee.

“The committee should approve anything that directly affects students and/or a significant amount of student fees,” Stern said. Although the main purpose of the committee is to provide input on student issues in the HSC to the administration, he wants to change the committee’s structure from an advisory committee to a governing board, he said.

Earlier this year, Student Association President Jim Fischer said he and the SA would fight for more control over student fees through the creation of a governing board system.

The election came after the adoption of bylaws for the committee written last year. The committee must report to the office for business and operations, HSC Acting Director Marlin TenBoer said.

Originally, the HSC Ad Hoc Advisory Committee was to function until March 1988, at which time the purpose would be reviewed and possibly allowed to remain as a standing committee.

According to the ad hoc committee bylaws, the purpose of the committee is to expand the scope of input from students to administrators.

Specific goals include advisement and recommendations on policies and procedures in the HSC, especially those affecting students. Also, goals are to be informed of HSC fiscal operations, especially those which affect the budget or impact the student fees.

This semester, the committee has focused its efforts on utilizing HSC space more efficiently and increasing HSC revenues. Ideas include relocating the Campus Activities Board and the Student Legal Services to the second floor to make them more accessible to students. A proposal to rent space in the Student Activities Center, located in the HSC basement, was sent to the administration last year; however, the idea was never acted upon.

Stern said an immediate committee goal is to improve the “revenue generating operations in the center.” Included in this goal is the investigation of charging Greyhound Bus Lines and other potential vendors for space.

owever, according to TenBoer the decision to charge outside vendors must come from NIU’s department of business and operations.

Stern said he would like to see the idea of leasing HSC space brought before the committee a second time.

The possibility of discounting the cost of HSC catering and room rental for students is another area the committee is investigating.

“The student center is supposed to be the heartstone of the campus, where all the hub-bub is,” said Michelle Emmett, director of University of Programing and Activities. “If we make it easier for students to go outside the student center, we are defeating our purpose.”