Proposed amendments to NIU’s University Bylaws were shuffled aside during Wednesday’s University Council meeting due to low attendance.

With NIU President John La Tourette absent and only 38 voting members in attendance, just two above the 36 votes needed to pass an amendment, the UC voted to table several proposals to amend the University Bylaws until their next meeting.

Concern of several UC members, which led to the motion to table, regarded the possibility of a three-vote veto of any one of the proposed amendments.

The proposals had been tabled during the UC’s December meeting for the same reason.

In response to the low attendance, Joan Greening, associate director for Career Planning and Placement, motioned that the UC require Executive Secretary Norman Magden to follow a provision in the UC Bylaws which would remove members from the UC who failed to attend three consecutive meetings.

“We’re killing a lot of trees as we reissue these minutes and proposals because people are not here,” she said.

The motion passed unanimously.

Proposals tabled at the meeting included amendments to the Bylaws’ Article 5: The Academic Personnel Process and Article 6: General Personnel Procedures regarding several personnel matters.