The first Student Association Senate meeting was held Sunday with two noticeably absent individuals.

Kevin Miller, president of the Student Association, was present for the first half of the meeting. Miller made some brief remarks concerning the Illinois state budget and Kevin O’Kelly, chief of staff for the SA, who also was absent, becoming a full member of the Illinois Higher Board of Education.

Miller refused a request for questioning after the executive report. He left before the meeting was over and was unavailable for questioning. SA senator Eric Youngquist said he wanted to question Miller concerning Big Time Entertainment.

“I’ve objected to it from the beginning,” Youngquist told the Northern Star about the BTE. “I’ve had fears that this is Miller’s pet project.” Youngquist objected to the way he claims Miller had gone about getting the BTE bill passed. He pointed out that the meeting at which BTE was passed allegedly violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act, and the fact BTE committee members have acted without senate oversight.

“They still aren’t on the list to be confirmed by the senate,” Youngquist said. “It’s insulting to all of us that he thinks he can do this to us.”

Also absent from the meeting was James Barr, president pro tempore for the SA. SA Senator Andrew Nelms, who chaired the meeting, said Barr resigned from the SA citing personal reasons. At press time, Barr was unavailable for comment.

Old business for the senate included discussion of a bill to approve allocations for the SA book exchange program.

Senator R.J. Gravel raised the point that many alternatives, such as campusbooks.com, offer similar setups to the proposed SA Book Exchange.

SA Senate Speaker Frank Woodin said he had used the SA’s program, but not many people were utilizing the service.

After much debate, the bill passed 16-10-0.

Two vacant seats were filled with new additions to the senate. Mike Calvert, a junior political science major and former Northern Star advertising representative, and freshman management major Adam Novontney became the newest members of the SA Senate.