Institute of Aviation students, staff and faculty turned out in droves at the Illinois Student Senate meeting Wednesday night, voicing their opinions as the ongoing investigation on shutting down the Institute of Aviation continues.

Students, flight instructors and air traffic controllers voiced their opinions and showed their support in numbers during the public comment portion of the meeting. On the ISS agenda included a resolution proposal in support of continuing operations in Savoy, Ill., as well as looking at other alternatives to remain afloat.

Matt Niermann, junior in Aviation and one of two student speakers, talked about how he was unable to transfer into the institute in 2009 as University administration denied out-of-school transfer students into the program. He said he accepted admission into another program at the University so he may transfer from within.

Niermann said a close to the school would affect many programs the institute offers, including its flight team. The flight team recently placed first in regional competition and will travel to The Ohio State University in the spring for the national competition.

Kirk Banner, an air traffic controller at Willard Airport and University alum, said shutting down the program at this time would impact the aviation industry directly, because demand for pilots will increase as more retire in the near future.

Banner added that if the University is considering closing the school for financial reasons, it might as well investigate other programs.

“If the University wants to eliminate the program, how about we find a duplicate program to consider?” Banner asked. “It appears to me that there is a long standing agenda among a few against the institute.”

The closing of the institute could also affect the future of the airport, said Kevin Gnagey, air traffic controller at Willard. Gnagey said air traffic at the airport would go down by as much as 85 percent. A closure would also impact improvement plans at the control tower, with construction on a state-of-the-art tower to begin as early as 2012.

Gnagey said an aviation school as prestigious as the one in Savoy should offer more research programs through their Human Factors department than have it shut down.

“We personally feel the high level officials in the University look down at the institute,” Gnagey said. “Instead of closing the institute, they should expand the program.”

Cole Goldenberg, student senator from the Institute of Aviation, presented his resolution in support of the Institute of Aviation, along with a short video demonstration.

In the resolution, Goldenberg restated the importance of the school’s research prospects. According to the report, the Institute of Aviation currently has $1.25 million in research funds and has potential for greater research opportunities.

He said the University has not voted on the closing yet but is acting like the institute is going to be shut down. No students were admitted into the Aviation program for the class of 2015.

“We’re (the University) already acting like a decision has been made,” Goldenberg said.

Goldenberg urged the senators to support his college’s cause by voting it down in the academic senate vote. He added that there are various steps remaining in the process, including the vote in the academic senate, Board of Trustees and the Illinois Board of Higher Education before reaching the state capital.

The resolution calls for alternatives to closing, such as raising flight fees, increasing enrollment and finding other solutions to any fiscal problems.