Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News

Levi Bulgar emphasizes the use of reusable water-jugs in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills during the Illinois Board of Higher Education-Student Advisory Commitee meeting on Saturday in Champaign. (Rick Kambic/The Daily Eastern News)

IBHE Student Board Member Matt DeRosa (left) has a side conversation with Levi Bulgar during the university committee meeting about Bulgar running for chairman of the Student Advisory Board. Bulgar later decided to run for vice chair and lost 10 votes to five to Charlie Mehl from Moraine Valley Community College. (Rick Kambic/The Daily Eastern News)

Levi Bulgar lost his bid to become vice chairman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education Student Advisory Committee in Champaign this weekend.

The incumbent, Malachi Dean from Richard Daley College, was criticized for his tardiness and absences, but Bulgar, Eastern's student executive vice president, lost his bid to Charlie Mehl from Moraine Valley Community College.

Bulgar said the delegates who were undecided gave their votes to Mehl because he spoke before Bulgar when answering the attendance question, which was geared toward Dean.

Mehl had 10 votes, Bulgar received five votes and Dean had four votes. Bulgar said he's curious how 19 votes were cast when the original delegate count was 17.

Bulgar told delegates he planned on accomplishing set goals and exposing the advisory committee to different school. He said the group can expand and grow stronger with stronger direction.

"I've seen the way Levi has contributed to individual committee meetings, and I'm confident in how he could organize the executive board," said Matt DeRosa, IBHE student board member.

During the University committee meeting, Bulgar quietly talked with DeRosa about his chances to win chairman of the board. Bulgar said the talk convinced him to run for vice chair.

Bulgar discussed Eastern's new text-messaging alert system and recycling programs with delegates during committee meetings.

"A lot of the green discussions have come from Levi as to how Eastern reformatted their campus to be more energy-efficient," DeRosa said.

Bulgar emphasized getting reusable water jugs for students on college campuses so that aluminum cans and plastic bottles do not pack landfills.

"Universities with successful recycling programs make money," Bulgar said. "They're not making millions upon millions of dollars, but they're breaking even - and a lot of little expenses eventually build up."

Also at the meeting, Mehl talked about a need for construction projects to use recycled material when building structures. He also referred to the geothermal system that a building at Moraine Valley Community College had installed and how less electricity is needed to heat and cool the facility.

"It's a little more expensive and the administration knows that, but that money comes back several times over again in the long run," Mehl said.

State funding was a popular topic of discussion during the meeting.

Hope Whitten from the College of DuPage stressed a need for lobbying and using bond referendums if the state does not provide money.

"Sometimes we don't realize the power of our voice and it will take the student voice at a national level to get action," said Anthony Henderson from DePaul. "Hope's right; we should utilize every level of government when speaking out."



Rick Kambic can be reached at 581-7942 or at rwkambic@eiu.edu.

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