The Student Association senate Sunday discussed the possibility of entering a Huskie Bus in the NIU Homecoming Parade and continued with “beginning of the year” committee nominations and approvals.

SA senators and staff are making plans to decorate and ride the bus in the Oct. 10 parade in an effort to not only promote “hopping a Huskie,” but also to promote the SA, said SA Vice President Cam Davis.

SA President Jim Fischer said hiring a bus driver and paying for gas would cost about $50. The senate approved the funding of the bus through special projects funding.

SA Treasurer Todd Lipscomb announced the 15-member finance committee. The senators serving on the committee are Brian Kean, Dave Stern, Thomas Gary, Melissa Hoeft, Diana Turowski and David Emerick.

The non-senators are Michael Fellenzer, Marian Zykan, Paul Heinen, Natalie Nelson, Roger Beith, Mike Komons, Leanne Grew and Gary Hattendorf.

The finance committee will hold its first meeting at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Capitol South Room.

Davis announced the Internal Affairs Committee, which consists wholely of senators. Members are Becky Doetsch, Brad Drew, Paula Graunke, Regina Hudson, Anne Rapp and Diana Turowski.

The IAC’s first meeting will be held 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the SA conference room.

The senate also unanimously approved Fischer’s supreme court appointee Jim Schneider. Schneider has been involved with the SA since 1981. He has served as a senator, public relations adviser and president pro-tempore of the SA.

Senators Tom Zur, Mike Goldstein and Leann Rossi have been nominated for SA senate speaker. The senate will appoint the speaker at next week’s meeting.

Although nominations have been made for the SA Welfare Committee and the Judicial Board, final approval will not be made by the senate until next week’s senate meeting.

Twenty-five student organizations were approved for recognition by the senate, including four new organizations.

Fischer also discussed the Oct. 21 Day of Action, which he said is probably the most influential plan for protesting Gov. Thompson’s budget cuts to higher education.

The Day of Action “is in no way an end, in fact, by the way things are shaping up; it will only be a kick-off to a year of struggle,” Fischer said.

Tom Rainey, Student Committee on Political Action chairman, gave his report on the strategies leading up to the Day of Action.

ainey said the SCOPA letter-writing campaign has accumulated nearly 1,000 letters to be sent to state legislators in protest of NIU’s $3.3 million budget cut and $150 tuition increase. SA Sen. David Hochberg was recognized for collecting almost 400 letters.

SA senator Anne Rapp, also a SCOPA member, made a motion to require all senators to spend at least one hour each week through Oct. 21 working the letter-writing campaign tables throughout campus.

app stressed the importance of all senators participating in the campaign in order to accumulate as many letters as possible from NIU students.