The Student Association Senate provides direct representation for the student body, but this form of student government comes with one stipulation: elected officials must attend senate meetings.

From the beginning of this academic year to the end of January, attendance records show the S.A. Senate has never had perfect attendance, and that fact may not seem extraordinary.

Consider, however, the S.A. Senate only meets once a week, and a walk to the Holmes Student Center is hardly a daunting task.

“I don’t necessarily think that one meeting a week is asking for a lot from them,” said Matt Venaas, Speaker of the Senate.

When students elect senate members, those senators must follow an attendance policy once in office. Three absences in a semester or five absences in an academic year will automatically remove a senator from office. Still, senators can petition their absences for approval, and approved absences will not count against a senator’s attendance record, however, this system is less than perfect.

“There’s no way we can go through, look into and investigate every single absence,” Venaas said. “Honestly, I think most of the time it really is just that things come up.”

The approval system is a necessity. While senators do have a job, personal or academic matters may arise. In those cases, an excused absence may be necessary. Recently though, the senate has suffered low attendance numbers. The Jan. 18 meeting had 20 of 36 senators in attendance.

“From a senate perspective, I find it a little disheartening in some cases because these are senators that are elected by the student body to represent the student body,” Venaas said.

The Jan. 18 meeting was just two senators away from not meeting quorum and conducting business.

“From my perspective, it’s a little scary when they don’t show up,” Venaas said. “Sometimes I do wish people would take it a little more seriously in terms of making sure they’re there every week.”

While NIU may not be equivalent to Congress, the S.A. Senate affects the lives of students and controls over $1 million of student funds. That fact alone deserves representation.

Those elected to the senate must take their job seriously and actively participate in student government, but responsibility extends to students as well. Those students concerned about their representation can look at the senate attendance records, which are open to the public. An active public drives active representatives.