DE Asst. Features Editor

An 88-cent student activity fee increase brought International students together Wednesday night to discuss their concerns about the Undergraduate Student Government bill.

The International Student Council Executive Board expressed concern toward the lack of feedback concerning the recent USG bill at the council’s 1996 Leadership Conference Wednesday.

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Ilian Radev, ISC vice president of finance, said the ISC Executive Board wants the opinion of its umbrella organizations before the ISC writes a resolution to USG against the bill.

Umbrella organizations are registered student organizations that work as separate groups, such as the Chinese Student Association, but funded in part by a larger organization.

We represent one-third of the student body of SIUC, he said. We have the right to express our opinion. Do we write a resolution or recommendation. This is your day to voice your opinion.

Scott Pfeiffer, USG chief of staff, said the ISC may submit a resolution to USG opposing the bill, but the USG Senate is no longer considering the bill until further review by the USG Finance Committee.

They have the opportunity to sign and submit a resolution, he said. But the bill won’t be discussed again for quite some time.

Council members also discussed improving communication skills between the organizations.

Jose Orriola, president of the Puerto Rican Student Association, presented suggestions to encourage equal representation among the organizations under ISC to improve communication.

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Orriola said the presidents of the smaller organizations need to become more active in ISC affairs and attend more meetings. He said board members also need to appoint a recognized substitute to fill in for presidents of the associations that are absent.

It’s not the name of vice president or president you need to carry, Orriloa said. It’s the responsibility that needs to be carried. Orriola said an improved mail system needs to be developed between the smaller organizations and ISC.

ISC and other international student organizations have mailboxes in the council office in the basement of the Student Center. Orriola said mail gets lost and the boxes are barely used. He said the system needs to be treated more seriously by ISC members.

You shouldn’t be scared to leave more than one message to someone, he said. The mail is a good communication tool. We need to make sure to utilize it properly.

Orriola said ISC should also work on organizing an updated calendar. He said keeping a regular calendar will force ISC members to communicate with each other to plan events.

I know we won’t solve these problems tonight, but this is something to work on for the whole semester, he said. We first need to develop steps to find solution routes.

ISC President Wan Kamal Wan Napi, said the organization will consider looking into developing a homepage on the World Wide Web to serve as a medium to the campus and international community.

For us to be strong and respected by others, we need to be united, he said.