The Student Association Senate went through several changes in its staff and passed a bill allocating funds to SA subcommittees.

Former Senators Steven Ray Vaughn and Daniela Miteva resigned from the Senate due to scheduling conflicts, Senate Speaker Austin Quick said. Former Senators Deldric Henderson and Hantac Chang were removed from office due to absences, Quick said.

This leaves four vacancies in the Senate, with several Senator-at-Large applicants looking to fill them.

Deldric Henderson’s seat was filled by newly-inducted Senator James Zanayed. Zanayed said he is a board member and safety committee member of a DeKalb task force which installs new streets lights and trims trees. He is also a member of Sigma Alpha Mu.

“I now come to the Student Association Senate with the hopes of bringing my knowledge and experience from other organizations to jointly benefit the student body,” Zanayed said.

Nicholas Bender was inducted as a new Senator as well. Bender said he is a business administration major and the vice president of the Business Administration Student Association.

“I want to make a positive change here at NIU,” Bender said.

Both of the newly inducted Senators ran in the Senate elections earlier this month as District 4 candidates. Both were disqualified due to low vote count.

During his report, Quick said SA Chief Justice Heather Hentbrook requested Justices Ryan Hebda and Courtney Hogan be removed from office. Quick said it was due to neglecting duties and lack of attendance. They will be up for impeachment Sunday, Quick said.

The Senate passed a bill allocating a percentage of funding from the Fiscal Year 2013 SA budget to subcommittees. The subcommittees awarded were University Services, Sports and Recreation, Greek and Cultural, Academic and Professional, and General Programming and Activities.

The bill was authored by SA Treasurer Jeremy Sanchez, who was not in attendance. Quick spoke on his behalf.

In the past, the finance committee would take the entire SA budget and split it among every funded organization like the SA, CAB and the Campus Recreation Center, Quick said.

“This year they split the new finance policy into subcommittees, and in order for those subcommittees to work, we will have to break them down and give them an amount they can spend,” Quick said.

The Senate passed a resolution requesting the DeKalb change parking times on Garden Road from 9 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. to make it easier for people to park there and not get tickets, Quick said.

“Maybe this is a little hard-headed, but I do feel this is something that would be good for our school; to have parking available in front those buildings at a time when people are going to class,” Quick said.

Bill Nicklas, associate vice president for institutional planning and sustainability, spoke to the Senate with details about the Vision 2020 Initiative and the study groups analyzing how to make the university more attractive to students and prospective students.

“The key point to keep in mind … is to drive ourselves to the point where we can say in every objective way we are the most student-centered and research university in the Midwest,” Nicklas said.

NIU Moto, an organization devoted to motorcycles, and the Saudi Student Association were recognized by the Senate.