Associated Student Government’s Student Services Committee will introduce two bills at tonight’s Senate meeting. One aims to facilitate dialogue between ASG and the student body and the other would bring duck feeders to the Lagoon.

To increase students’ communication with their representatives, senators are calling for an online suggestion box for students, said Student Services Vice President Mike Fong. Fong, the bill’s co-author, said a suggestion box would create an easily accessible way for students to let ASG know what is on their minds.

“Students are inherently lazy, myself included,” said Fong, a Weinberg junior. “Having a little icon online would be a great convenience to everyone.”

Fong said an online suggestion box could be a solution to ASG’s efforts to increase student participation.

“We’ve always tried to increase feedback from students,” Fong said. “In order to adequately represent our constituents, we have to hear what they have to say.”

The committee’s other bill calls for NU to put duck feeders near the Lagoon. Bassel Korkor, one of the bill’s six authors, said the legislation stems from an Illinois state law requiring institutions to provide “proper care and maintenance” to animals that take up an unnatural habitat on the institution’s property.

The ducks’ habitat at NU is unnatural because, as a cooling pond, it does not develop a layer of ice in the winter, discouraging ducks from flying south, Korkor said. The feeders also would make the Lakefill more pleasant for students, he said.

Korkor, a senator for the Middle Eastern Students Association, passed a similar bill through Senate during Winter Quarter 2001, but no substantive action followed the legislation, he said. This time, Korkor has the administration’s approval and the mandate to find a vendor for the feeders if the legislation passes, he said.

Korkor said he expects resistance from people concerned that feeders will attract new animals such as geese.

“I simply don’t know how the geese would find out,” said Korkor, a Weinberg senior.

Senators also will debate three bills introduced at last week’s meeting. The bills, two from the Academic Committee and one from the Student Services Committee, include:

– the addition of Course and Teacher Evaluation Council links to the CAESAR registration Web site;

– a library test file system for use by both students and professors, and

– calls for the university to install more garbage cans and ash trays around campus.