Brian Hemphill, vice president of Student Affairs, talked to the Student Association Senate Sunday night about the importance of their roles and being open to changes on campus.

“There are many students not here in this room today because you were elected and you need to take that seriously,” Hemphill said. “It’s important to be open to new organizations. They bring something unique to the NIU campus.”

Communicating and listening to students is critical, Hemphill said.

“We don’t take the time to share the positive messages of the SA,” Hemphill said.

Hemphill told the senate it is important to emphasize classroom learning as a part of the experience student organizations provide for students.

“Many schools develop student government programs that don’t value the importance of learning in the classroom,” Hemphill said.

More training within the office of Student Affairs is something the department is going to do to help reach an overall goal of improving campus community relations, Hemphill said.

During a question-and-answer session, Hemphill asked the senate to bring issues and concerns, regardless of the size, to the Student Affairs office.

“Give me and my staff a chance to work on it first, before it ends up on [NIU President John Peters’] desk,” Hemphill said. “I’m a straight-shooter; I will let you know if the issue needs to go to the next level.”

Hemphill spoke at the SA senators’ meeting as part of the “Prairie Leaders’ Lecture Series,” which started last year. NIU President John Peters and State Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, spoke at meetings last year, said Senate Speaker Andrew Nelms.

In other senate business, standing senate committee assignments were approved. The assignments resolution was the only new business on the agenda.

Nelms stressed the importance of the individual committees setting meeting times that work for all of the members.

“Many bills have died in committee because of inaction of the committees,” Nelms said. “We don’t want that to be the case this year.”

A report to the senate outlined three new commissions to be created by the SA Academic Affairs committee.

One commission will seek to standardize the professor and book evaluations at the end of the semester. A student-retention committee and a text book exchange commission are also being created.

The number of organizations’ budget requests turned in on time increased this year compared to last year, but an official count of how many were turned in has not been completed, SA Treasurer DuJuan Smith said.

Advertising sales have been going well, and all of the bus ad space is expected to be filled this year, said SA Advertising Director Brittany Gilmer.

The next SA senate meeting is 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Holmes Student Center’s Clara Sperling Sky Room.