Mayor John Rey spoke with the Student Association Senate on city-university partnerships at the Senate’s meeting Sunday.

Communiversity

Rey hopes to build a relationship between NIU and the community. He plans on doing this by maintaining contact with student organizations and getting students involved in the city’s performance venues.

“The Black Male Initiative was one of the groups, the Black Student Union was one of the groups that I reached out to,” Rey said. “And I was told that I was the first community member [to reach out to them].”

Rey and the senators also discussed transportation options from DeKalb to Chicago.

“The county is looking at the possibility of an extended rail service, but that is going to be a long-term opportunity in becoming a reality,” Rey said.

Senator Blake Goldman suggested having a Greyhound bus system for students. Other options, like extending the Metra, didn’t seem as plausible.

“It costs $75 million, more or less, to extend Metra from Fox to Elburn … we don’t have the kind of population to support that,” said Bill Nicklas, vice president of Public Safety and Community Relations.

Other Business

German Culture Club, Conflict Simulation Society and Campus Advance Ministry were recognized by the Senate.

The following students were voted in as senators at large:

• Carrie Morris (Distric 5)

• Nathan Lupstein (District 5)

• Pagel Palmer (Distric 5)

There was a divide in Senate when Charles Marshall, senior environment and technology major, was not voted into Senate due to his GPA not meeting the Senate’s requirements. Senate membership requires a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Speaker James Zanayed asked for a motion to postpone the vote indefinitely. A majority of the Senate voted nay.

Goldman made a motion to have Marshall attend all Senate meetings; he proposed that and at the end of the semester the Senate would check if Marshall was able to bring his GPA to the Senate requirement. If so, he would then be voted into Senate. The motion was rejected.

Senator Ben Donovan motioned that this issue be moved to the Rules and Procedures Committee. The move was approved by the Senate.

At the next Senate meeting, DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery will be a guest speaker. All students are invited to hear from Lowery and ask him questions. The meeting is 6 p.m. Sunday in the Holmes Student Center’s Skyroom.