Correction: The Northern Star mistakenly reported the human diversity requirement would require one credit to fulfill the requirements. However, the human diversity requirement can be fulfilled with three credit hours or a non-course-based action.

DeKALB | The Student Association Senate approved a resolution that requires students to obtain three credits in a human diversity course or non-course-based action Sunday, which aims to help students understand diversity.

The senate is responsible for the SA budget which is more than $6.5 million. This money is used to provide services to the students including Huskie Line, Campus Recreation and Students’ Legal Assistance.

Chief Diversity Officer Vernese Edghill-Walden proposed the human diversity requirement bill during the SA Senate’s first meeting of the semester in the Holmes Student Center, Sky Room.

“I think [the course requirement] will be a good idea, and I fully support this bill,” SA Senate Speaker Christine Wang said. “This is a great way to introduce diversity to students.”

The bill will become active for undergraduate students next fall and will require them to complete a course or non-course based action, which allows students to receive credit for doing an activity that does not require them to sit in a classroom, such as study abroad and rookie research.

Students enrolled prior to the fall 2017 semester will not be required to fulfill the credit, Edghill-Walden said.

This proposal is in compliance with an Illinois Public Act that states every public college and university in Illinois must require that students complete a human diversity credit before they graduate, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

“Our goal in completing this requirement is not to add courses or add credits or add financial burden to the student,” Edghill-Walden said. “We are looking at existing courses and existing programs, and we are asking faculty to look at their courses and to perhaps revise them so they can be for the requirement.”

Edghill-Walden said with the support of the SA Senate, the bill will be able to move onto the next submission for approval from the University Council and the Faculty Senate.

SA Senators rejected a bill that would require the SA Senate Speaker to attend every committee meeting, when according to the current bylaws, the Speaker is only required to attend one every semester.

“I personally planned on attending anyway,” Wang said. “I like to be personally involved, and I think that [requiring the SA Senate Speaker to attend all commitee meetings] would be a decent idea, but I just don’t know in the future if others will think the same.”

Correction: The Northern Star reported that the SA Senate approved a bill that requires students to obtain one credit in a human diversity course Sunday. However, the senate did not approve a bill, they approved a resolution which expresses support from the senate. The senate does not have the authority to authorize students’ credit requirements.