The Student Association Senate granted NIU’s chapter of the American Meteorological Society full recognition as a student organization during Sunday’s meeting.

NIU’s chapter of the AMS was founded in 1971 to prepare NIU students of meteorology for a career in atmospheric sciences, according to the chapter’s website.

Kris Kaminski, treasurer of NIU’s chapter of the AMS, said dues are only required for AMS members at the professional level, not for the individual student chapter.

“We, as a chapter, don’t require any dues,” she said. “But, to be in the AMS professionally, they have … a $20 fee per year. And with that, you get access to scholarships and research opportunities. So, we encourage our members and help them apply for that membership, but it’s not required.”

Some senators said they didn’t believe the optional condition of the dues was worded clearly enough in the AMS constitution.

Last year, several organizations were revoked funding due to wording in their bylaws that required members to pay dues.

Senator Kyle Jacobson suggested putting forth a motion to table the bill until the following week, after the language was made clearer.

Legislative Director Ashley Hines objected, saying the language didn’t have to be changed before the bill’s passage.

“The wording in the constitution can be changed even after we’ve approved them as a fully recognized organization,” she said. “So, I’m against tabling it until next week.”

Before the SA Senate voted 19-0 to fully recognize the chapter, Senator Kaelyn Nannini motioned for a vote of conditional approval. This means the AMS constitution would be amended and reviewed by the speaker before final approval. The motion failed 2-17.

Other matters

The SA Senate voted unanimously to provide $6,896 in supplemental funds to NIU Mock Trial, a student organization that participates in collegiate mock trial competitions.

The funds will be used to cover the cost of transportation to tournaments in other states, including Arizona, Iowa and Florida.

Wilfredo Najarro, vice president of logistics for Mock Trial, said the approval of these funds will allow the organization to remain competitive.

“We’re ranked 106th in the nation,” he said. “We repeatedly have gone against schools like Yale, Brown and Notre Dame.”

In addition, the SA Senate voted unanimously to fully recognize the Intercultural Student Organization.

The ISO seeks to foster cultural understanding among English Language Services students, strengthen multicultural competence for those seeking careers and help students understand phonetic patterns based on regions, according to a slideshow presented at the meeting.