DeKALB — The Campus Activities Board, also known as CAB, has been a resource for NIU students for many years but has recently undergone multiple changes that have transformed the organization.

Over the last two years, CAB has been undergoing a transformation in the way the organization is run as well as changes in leadership at CAB; Elina Savoie was brought in as the new adviser for CAB during this transformation after the previous CAB adviser obtained a new position with NIU. 

Meg Junk, chief of staff for student affairs, said in Spring  2019 CAB updated its constitution and bylaws to better fit the mission of the organization. Changes in the bylaws include giving CAB a better direction by making it a department organization, giving them more support by providing a dedicated staff, dedicated spaces and a larger portion of student fee dollars. The main goal for the new bylaws is to make sure CAB connects Huskies to campus, which leads to academic and career success.  

“Students are likely to do well when they feel connections within the campus community,” Junk said. “Making CAB a department organization has done a great job holding members of the organization accountable.” 

The new bylaws also created a new structure for the organization. The new hierarchy at CAB is president, vice president and the chairs of each committee.  

There are four different committees in the CAB organization, including Huskies After Dark, who are responsible for the planning of multiple programs like the First Friday Bingo and Third Thursday Trivia.

The primary focus of Daytime Programming and Crafts is to provide opportunities for students to participate in activities during the day with make-and-take crafts, Huskies on the Go service projects and virtual as well as hybrid craft nights. Huskie Traditions is involved in the planning of Homecoming Week, Week of Welcome, Spring Welcome as well as concerts and performances. 

The last committee is Social Impact, which allows students to engage with the community and enhances the connections with NIU and local communities. 

“I think it’s really awesome,” said Maggie Diaz, a sophomore elementary education major. “It definitely helps, especially with COVID, that they’re creating a lot of activities for us to get involved.” 

The students who lead these committees, known as committee chairs, were previously not paid for their work. Due to the changes in the CAB bylaws, the chairs of each committee are now being paid. 

As well as the president, vice president and committee chairs, CAB also employs a full-time adviser and two graduate students. CAB currently has six positions filled but is always looking for new members to join the committees. Students interested in joining CAB can sign up under the CAB section on the Huskie Link website. 

CAB gets its funding from student fees allocated to the Student Government Association. Junk said each year, the SGA allocates money to CAB, and this year they received $96,000 in funding from NIU students, $31,680 of which paid for student workers.

For more information on CAB, students can contact the CAB adviser Elina Savoie at [email protected]. Students can also contact one of the two CAB graduate assistants— Mariah Osborne can be reached at [email protected] and Yanira Quezada can be reached at [email protected].