After what Speaker of the Senate Matthew Venaas described as “possibly the shortest SA meeting ever” last week, the Student Association had much to go over this week.

With 26 of 36 senators and SA President Brent Keller attending, the SA addressed the requests of two student organizations for supplemental funding, three student organizations’ requests to be

SA recognized and the appointment of a new director of academic affairs.

Prior to these agenda items, Venaas first explained the need for a census committee to be formed so a census for the five electoral districts around NIU may be taken.

“I’m not even sure when the last time a census of the districts were taken so it’s important that we do it and I’m excited what we may find from it,” Venaas said.

The two student organizations requesting supplemental funding for their activities were the student theatre group, Northern Illinois Players, and the international student relations group, International Student Association.

Northern Illinois Players sought $300 in funding to cover past debts and to pay for costumes and props. The SA unanimously approved the funding but with some consideration to give $250 instead.

“I’m happy. It’s just been a little bit of a problem we’ve been dealing with since I took office but now it’s resolved, now we have money, so we can now go forward and move the club itself forward,” said Christopher Dodge, junior history major and president of the group.

The International Student Association requested $780 for a cultural showcase to promote cultural awareness and activity, having students display talents and cultural heritage. The SA also gave unanimous approval of the requested amount.

“We haven’t been funded by the SA in the past but we’re now getting some so we can finally have a show,” said Ankur Dahal, a senior business administration major and president of the group.

The remaining amount in the SA’s budget for supplemental funding is now $53,920.

Of the three student organizations requesting to be SA-recognized, only one was unanimously approved while one failed to make its appearance. The other called to postpone its appearance before the SA for further preparation.

The Navigators, a Christian ministry group, was approved to be SA-recognized. The group focuses on discipleship, mentorship and relationship building to spread the word of Jesus Christ.

“It’s great that we got approved,” said Ben Dager, a staff representative for the group. “It seemed like a very efficient senate, they asked some good questions, they were respectful and we were out of here pretty quick.”

The new director of academic affairs up for appointment was John Tharnstrom, a senior finance major, who looks to move professor evaluations online, create a consumer finance course open to all students and organized electronic textbooks online for students in the future. Tharnstrom was met with unanimous approval.

The next SA meeting will be Feb. 8.