Northern Star
DeKALB – Deputy Speaker Dallas Douglass accepted a nomination for speaker of the Student Government Association Senate for the 53rd session during Sunday’s Senate meeting.
Chairperson Cristian Hernandez nominated Douglass as the speaker while other senators agreed with the nomination, and no one else was nominated for the position.
“I am honored to accept my nomination,” Douglass said in a Monday email. “As American society begins to function more normally, I hope to see changes in our culture, economy and health systems. Like all of you, I’m excited to face the world again, and I am more than prepared to put in the work to ensure that the changes NIU students experience are positive ones.”
Northern Star
DeKALB – The Student Government Association Senate unanimously confirmed Brenna McConnell, sophomore finance major with a marketing minor, as an SGA Supreme Court justice.
Supreme court justices in SGA operate similarly to the federal Supreme Court, McConnell said. Whenever there is a gray area or a case the Senate moves up, the supreme court hears it. They do not meet as frequently as the Senate.
McConnell is very involved but said her experiences led her to be able to separate her personal life and work-life very well.
“I’m very passionate about SGA’s mission statement, which is that not only every student is heard, but heard fairly,” McConnell said. “With current events, I think it’s so, so important that biases are left at the door, and you listen to the facts, hear each person, and you don’t judge them before you hear all the facts.”
DeKALB – Students looking to run for an executive position within the Student Government Association need 75 signatures instead of the previous 300 due to a bill that was amended on Sunday at SGA’s virtual meeting. Instead of the original 50 signatures that were to be verified, only 20 will be verified. Originally, it was.
Northern Star
DeKALB – Five students were approved by the SGA Senate to serve on the spring Board of Elections on Sunday at the virtual meeting.
Senator Michael Verlinksy was nominated to be the chair for the Board of Elections and was voted in with 15 in favor, zero against and two abstentions.
“I ran last election, so I know what the process looks like with the [COVID-19] protocols, and I know there’s going to be things changing, so I will ensure a balanced election and help the director as much as I possibly can,” Verlinksy said.
Dylan Moffitt, senior political science major with a minor in nonprofit NGO studies, said he doesn’t want an executive branch candidate or any candidate running to go unopposed.