Winners of last week’s Student Association senate elections took their oaths of office Sunday night as the senate convened for the first time this year.

SA President Jim Fischer said the senators will have to work hard in order to provide students with effective representation.

SA Vice President Cam Davis informed the senators their duties will include “legislating on all matters of student concerns and exercising power of approval over all appointments made by the executive branch.”

Davis also warned senators that attendance reqiurements will be strictly enforced. “Any senator missing more than six roll calls (three meetings) will be automatically expelled,” he said.

In other business, SA Welfare Adviser Julie Stege urged members of the senate to increase awareness of sexual assault on campus.

Stege said she is planning to disseminate information concerning sexual assault this Tuesaday evening when the movie “Deep Throat” will be shown at NIU.

“We are urging all students to boycott the film because Linda Lovelace was forced to perform all of the sexual acts depicted in the film, including gang rape, against her will.

“Linda never got paid for the film and the proceeds from the film are going to support the men who forced her to be sexually assaulted,” Stege said.

Stege also said she is seeking recruits for The Sexual Assault Task Force, which is a university-sponsored committee set up to aid victims of sexual assault.

“The Welfare Committee is aiding the task force by helping to inform the NIU community about sexual assault. We are going to start our efforts on Tuesday and continue throughout the year.

“Sexual assault includes acts ranging from unwanted touching to actual penetration against the victims’s will. The incidences of sexual assault on campus are high, though most will go unreported.” She said, 99 percent of sexual assaults nationwide go unreported according to FBI statistics.

Stege encouraged victims of sexual assault to report the incident to the University Police, who will then contact a counselor from the Sexual Assault Response Team.

“The counselors will seek ways to help the victim, but their services will be of little use to those who do not report incidents of sexual assault,” Stege said.

The senate also confirmed the nominations of Kerry O’Brien and Paul Schmig to the SA Supreme Court. O’Brien will serve as chief justice, while Schmig will sit as an associate justice.