Last night’s brief Illinois Student Senate meeting began with the swearing-in of a new senator from the graduate college and then moved on to general discussion about the recent events and upcoming Student Senate business.

Ariel Avila, vice president and senior in finance, reported on the success of Monday’s “Dinner with Your Administrator” event, which was sponsored by ISS. President B. Joseph White, Chancellor Richard Herman and Provost Linda Katehi spoke at the event.

“It was a great success,” Avila told ISS delegates. “The tables were filled, a lot of students were in attendance … President White even said it made his month.” It is likely that similar meetings will be arranged in the future.

Another item discussed at the meeting was the possibility of informally partnering with student governments at other schools in Illinois to lobby in Springfield to reduce textbook prices, eliminate bundling books and possibly waive or decrease sales tax on required reading materials. The same informal association of schools is also interested in lobbying for changing the way the state’s higher education budget is appropriated, but it is unlikely that ISS would partner with other schools on that issue.

With ISS elections on the horizon, Vice President Jason Webber, graduate student, reported on the ballot that has recently been released by the Student Election Commission. This year, 81 people are running for ISS positions, compared with 74 last year. Still, several campus units have fewer candidates than available seats, so up to four vacancies could be filled by write-ins. Ryan Ruzic, student body president and senior in LAS, reported that the body did not reach its goal of making every single race competitive, but there are still more candidates running this year than any other time in ISS history.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, a representative from The New York Times addressed the body about possibly beginning a readership program with the University. Such a program would allow for free distribution of the daily newspaper to students as well as other complimentary services, such as access to restricted online materials and archives. Many senators expressed interest in further exploring the program.

Next Wednesday, ISS will meet at its regular time, 7 p.m., in the Union’s Pine Lounge. Each meeting is also televised the following Monday.