Student Association Senate elections will be held later this week, and SA officials said they want students to jump in and vote.

SA Senate elections will be held on Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polling locations include DuSable Hall, the Holmes Student Center Pow Wow Cafeteria and Founders Memorial Library. The SA is made up of 40 senators and allocates about $1 million in student fees to the numerous NIU student organizations.

SA Public Relations Adviser Anna Bicanic said the SA executive board encourages every student to come out and vote.

“We are excited because of the great number of responses we’ve gotten from students who wish to run,” she said.

Bicanic said 40 students met Friday’s application deadline and will be placed on the ballot. The SA has had problems in past years getting enough students to fill the ballot.

SA President Paul Middleton said this year’s elections are important because “the SA will be tackling major issues.”

These issues include campus parking, construction and development, Student’s Legal Assistance, allocation of space in the Campus Life Building, this year’s presidential election and funding of various new student organizations, he said.

“Well-informed and motivated student representatives will be needed to ensure proper handling of all of these issues,” Middleton said.

NIU student Regent John Butler said the SA is “one of the strongest student government organizations in the nation in terms of visibility and allocation of student fees.”

“The integrity of this institution depends on the individual performance of every officer, adviser, and senator,” he said.

“This is why careful and thoughtful choices should be made about who we want to call our senators.”

Recreation Adviser Steve Pryor said he encourages students to vote. Pryor ran for and lost the SA treasurer position in last semester’s hotly-contested executive board elections.

“Strong voter turnout shows the university and the community that the students are concerned about the issues and problems which we all face today,” he said.