The Student Association (SA) Senate met Sunday night in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center to approve two budgets for next school year and appoint directors to the SA’s seven subcommittees.

The final two of four budgets needing approval by the SA were for the sports club and the university services subcommittees. SA Treasurer Josh Venaas said in the interest of the SA’s budget, less money was given overall for the sports club budget this year. Venaas said last year the SA gave $123,000 for sports clubs, which was the full amount requested. This year, due to new clubs requesting funds, a total of $160,000 was requested, but Venaas said only $120,000 was allocated in order to be reasonable with the budget. Venaas said the SA has $1.28 million to allocate to university services like the Campus Activities Board and the Recreation Center. This is less than the subcommittee’s budget from last year of $1.4 million.

These budgets were approved after seven new directors were appointed to university subcommittees.

The first position discussed was director of Governmental Affairs. Senator Rebecca Clark, who was appointed to the position, said she wants to explore the executive side of the SA, and she hopes to be an asset to the university’s government.

“I want to get more students involved with what’s going on in the government, local and national,” Clark said. “I think the biggest change we need to see is more people getting involved. Utilizing the Senate is the biggest thing. We need to use a lot of people in order to spread the word.”

Next, Senator Joe Frascello was appointed to the position of director of Mass Transit. He currently serves as the vice chair of this committee.

“I believe in communication,” Frascello said. “Communication and cooperation with the student body is important. I want to make sure student transportation is safe and effective.”

Senator Kevin Malone was appointed to the position of director of Greek Affairs.

“Top 10 schools take their Greek system very seriously,” said Malone. “A Greek system helps with enrollment, and I hope to improve the overall image of the Greek System.”

Malone said he hopes to bring fraternities and sororities into the media in a positive way by participating in more volunteer programs like NIU Cares Day and Move-In Day.

Jose Gonzalez was appointed to the position of director of Public Affairs. He currently serves as vice chairman of this committee, and he hopes to improve the visibility of the SA.

“As cliche as it sounds, I want to get to the freshmen,” Gonzalez said. “With an expected larger class coming in, I want to publicize the SA to get students involved. It’s best for students to get involved because once they get involved, it’s easy to get involved in a lot of other things.”

Gonzalez plans to increase the SA’s visibility by having information booths set up in the residence halls from time to time, and he hopes to have a booth at Huskie Bash. Gonzalez plans to work with Jennifer Mader, newly appointed director of Advertising for the SA. Mader will work to establish relationships with nearby businesses in order to advertise, and she is working on having SA advertisements on both the inside and the outside of NIU’s buses. Mader wants this so students see the advertisements while they are riding the bus, instead of only when they are entering or exiting the bus.

Josiel Marrufo was appointed director of Cultural Affairs. Marrufo is a member of Sigma Lambda Beta, a multicultural fraternity on campus. He said every student has a culture and he hopes to see more diversity on campus.

Paul Julion was appointed director of Athletics. Julion has served as a senator for two years, and would like to see more student engagement at athletic events.

Also approved at Sunday’s meeting was Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Club (OSTEM). OSTEM’s purpose is to provide support and resources for LGBTQA students in the STEM field.