PLUS for IUSA outlines plans for rest of semester

The polls closed at 10 p.m. Wednesday, and PLUS for IUSA will be the administration for next year after running unopposed for the entire election.

IU sophomore Andy Braden, a senior staff member for the current IU administration, will be next year’s student body president.

Braden said one of his main goals for next year is increasing student engagement in IUSA decisions.

“Face-to-face exposure to students is really key,” Braden said. “If you can have a conversation with someone and say this is what IUSA is, if they can be engaged, I think it resonates a lot more than fliers and things.”

Braden said IUSA executives will continue to have office hours for students in the student tower.  

Additionally, Braden said, every other weekend IUSA representatives will be going directly to students.

He said they plan to spend time in key locations such as food courts and the Wells Library to give students an opportunity to meet them face-to-face and give suggestions on how the campus can be improved.

“I want it to be clear to students that we are your student government,” Braden said. “If you have an idea you can come talk to us, and we can help enact that.”

Current Chief of Staff Dia Sharma, who will also serve as Chief of Staff next year, said IUSA will also develop a think tank for students to come to them with ideas and be provided with IUSA feedback.

She said IUSA could help the students gain administration contacts or, potentially, financial resources for their projects.  

“Give us your idea and we will help you do it,” Sharma said.

The current administration only has four more weeks in office, and Sharma said most of its goals have been accomplished.

“We’ve learned a lot this year,” Sharma said. “You need to be continually working to be better. There are so many problems at the University, and we need (to) actively seek solutions.”

IUSA has recently received the Readership Program data, which VP of Administration Chris Kauffman said would be assessed before the end of their administration so IUSA members can decide how to continue.

The $100,000 Readership Program, which is an IUSA initiative aimed to provide daily copies of the New York Times and USA Today to students, had a $30,000 surplus this year, as stated in a Dec. 1, 2013, IDS article. The surplus amount was budgeted by
the University to be used specifically by IUSA.

Sharma said IUSA also hopes to improve their social media presence in the next four weeks and create a more direct line to students before their administration ends.
IUSA executives are also going to Washington, D.C., this weekend for Big Ten on the Hill, a conference for Big Ten student governments to share ideas and solutions.

“We’re going to continue working,” Sharma said. “We’re not just going to stop because we have four weeks left. We’re focusing on finishing strong.”