SA Senate passes resolution regarding pedestrians

By Felix Sarver

The Student Association Senate passed a resolution for pedestrians, postponed funding for a rugby team and inducted two new senators Sunday.

The Senate passed a resolution to promote a state law requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. SA Senate Speaker Austin Quick said in his report he met with the NIU Police Department and City of DeKalb to get signs posted on campus. In Illinois, 750 people were killed last year in crosswalk accidents, Quick said.

“We want to be in front of this issue,” Quick said. “A lot of other campuses had accidents and fatalities, and we don’t want to be one of those statistics.”

The Senate voted to postpone supplemental funding indefinitely for NIU Women’s Rugby. The group asked for $4,000 in supplemental funding to attend a tournament in Tennessee, said Susan Richard, president of the rugby team.

The cost of the trip would be $319 per mile by taking an NIU bus, Richard said. The group paid for the $400 entry fee for the tournament and planned to pay other fees. Team Captain Gina DeFano said the trip would allow the rugby team to face teams they would compete against next fall. The funding would also allow the team to use safer transportation, Richard said.

“Going on an NIU charter bus with a trained driver increases safety a lot more than if we are driving our cars,” Richard said.

Senator Seth Peritz did not want to give the group funding because they already appealed to the SA transportation committee and were denied funding.

“It is in our policy for supplemental funding to not give money that has been requested prior to supplemental funding requesting,” Peritz said.

Senator Brandon Grosz supported the rugby team to receive the funding because the rugby team would be able to represent NIU better.

“Since this is a highly sought after tournament, this is going to get a lot of PR from local or national newspapers,” Grosz said.

The Senate confirmed Grosz, Sebastian Hentbrook, Derek Maple, Tori Frank and Alan Hurt as members of the Board of Elections. Grosz was voted chair of the board. Sophomore marketing major Rebecca Clark and junior political science major Dalisa Barnes were inducted into the Senate.

Five senators were absent.