The Student Association Senate gathered amid delays and racially-charged disruptions for its final meeting of the semester Sunday.

The meeting almost did not occur as only 17 of 39 senators attended at the scheduled time of 6 p.m., which did not amount to the minimum number of senators needed to conduct senate business.

It was not until about 6:45 p.m. when three more senators arrived, and another later on, to make quorum of 21 senators so the senate could vote on proposals. Until quorum was made, a farewell speech from SA President Brent Keller and staff and committee reports were made.

The meeting, scheduled to be in the Holmes Student Center Heritage Room, was moved to the Regency Room at the last minute. Matthew Venaas, former speaker of the senate, said he and the senators contacted the majority of the senate to inform those not present of the change in

meeting place.

“As a student leader, all I could do is stress the importance of meetings,” Venaas said. “We had made it explicitly clear that among all of our other meetings this was an incredibly important meeting for the student body and it really disappoints me that a majority of the senators just chose not to show up.”

MONEY MATTERS

The SA Senate unanimously approved $1.6 million for the operating budgets of student organizations for next year without debate.

However, no copies of the budget were present at the meeting, nor were released beforehand. At this time, it is unknown how much funding the organizations received. Venaas said the budget will be posted on the SA’s Web site sometime today.

In addition to approving the budget, the senate also approved $25,000 of supplemental funding, $16,000 of which went to the building of a computer lab in Grant South. The project is being sponsored by Information and Technology Services and Residence Hall Association. RHA is pledging $15,000 to the computer lab, along with $7,500 from Grant North Hall Council and $5,000 from Grant South Hall Council.

The Black Student Union received $8,000 for the Unity Week activities it is holding this week, and the Campus Security Fund received $1,000.

The SA Senate also approved to re-furbish Campus Life Building Suite 190 with new computer equipment. Instead of funding it with supplemental funding, however, the SA will be using their general reserves along with annual funding set aside for this purpose.

ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM

Three student organizations were also set to be approved by the senate. But while the NIU Kickboxing Club and the Phi Rho Eta fraternity were unanimously approved, the Seekers of Knowledge fraternity was not.

The fraternity’s president, Cornel Darden Jr. was not pleased with the senate’s decision and disrupted the senate’s proceedings as members of the fraternity left the meeting.

Darden, however, remained in the room until he was allowed to speak at the podium where he continued his protest until senators began to walk out and the meeting was adjourned.

“I just feel it’s an outrage that a black male fraternity is the first organization to come in front of the senate this year and to be denied recognition,” Darden said. “For us to be denied is denying our rights and our liberties as students of this university to fraternize, and I think to say we can’t fraternize is another way to hold black men down.”

At one point, Venaas said he would call the University Police for assistance, but refrained from doing so when Darden left.

The Seekers of Knowledge fraternity said that it looks to be a professional and service fraternity

to help young black males become more knowledgeable about college opportunities. However, different senators felt the fraternity had not been prepared in their presentation and voted not to recognize the fraternity initially.

The senate disapproved of Darden’s behavior. Senator Ryan Chambers, an African-American student, felt Darden’s behavior was unbecoming of all African-American males on campus.

“As a senator of SA, I would like to say that this was extremely uncalled for and unprofessional and makes our race as African-American males trying to do positive things on campus look bad,” Chambers said.

Patrick Talley, the newly elected speaker of the senate, was also sworn in.