Members of the Registered Student Organization, Students for Chief Illiniwek will be circulating petitions at tonight’s basketball game, seeking signatures for a referendum in the Student Senate.

Like all petitions, they must get signatures from five percent of the campus, which translates into roughly 2,000 student signatures.

The referendum is asking for the Board of Trustees to be elected by the general public instead of appointed by the governor. Former governor Rod Blagojevich appointed all of the current trustees.

“We just want an accurate representation of who people want to represent the flagship university of the state,” said Roberto Martel president of the RSO.

An e-mail about the petition sent to the group’s e-mail list, undersigned with one of the group’s officers’ names, reads, “The whole point of this is to get anti-Chief Trustee’s out of office and try to get some pro-Chiefers in there.”

The email warned students that they could not be caught circulating the petitions or they would be expelled from the game.

“We’re going to try (to get signatures) before the game,” Martel said. “They have certain rules in Assembly Hall and I don’t know what the consequences are, but we’re not trying to interfere with anyone’s experience at Assembly Hall.”

Keep checking DailyIllini.com for updates on this story.