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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

IU student government looks ahead to spring semester

(From left to right) Sarah Masterson, Libby Gress, and Quinn Gordon pay attention to the IUSA Congress discussion prior to electing the Election Commission Appointees on Tuesday.

A glimpse at IUSA’s spring to-do list

After a fall filled with lobbying efforts, initiatives, hearings and two bills from Congress, IU Student Association is preparing for a strong spring from all six divisions including the executive branch, Congress and the Supreme Court.

The executive branch

The IUSA executive branch had a busy fall semester, which included speaking with the mayor of Bloomington about city-student concerns, working with College Mentors for Kids to inform elementary students about civic engagement, and meeting with United States congressional representatives to discuss the possibility of improving mental health options for students before the passing of legislation in favor of such reform.

The branch accomplished a notably high amount of other tasks last fall in addition to these things. The group’s productivity was acknowledged by President Sara Zaheer in a Facebook post recapping the executive branch’s fall season.

“You elected our Exec slate to work, so we did,” Zaheer said.

The executive branch’s work will continue this 
semester.

Provost Lauren Robel’s Inclusion Excellence Task Force will be aided by IUSA as the force creates a concrete plan to encourage inclusion and diversity at the University. Inclusion is a high priority for the executive officers and the Department of Diversity and Inclusion in 2017.

According to an email from Zaheer, IUSA is thrilled the Dean of Students has assigned a task force to reassess the University’s current strategies for accommodating the mental health needs of students. The executive branch will continue listening to student input on the matter and conveying it to the task force this semester.

As far as long-term projects are concerned, the executive branch’s Department of Sustainability is working to establish a bike share program that is moving along particularly well. Zaheer said in the email students should keep an eye on this project during the spring semester.

The branch will continue to find ways to keep the student body better informed about the student government’s latest actions this spring, Zaheer said in the email. The branch will be engaging University attendees in the political process by asking for feedback about specific policy interests in order to better meet student needs, she said.

Congress

When adviser to the vice president of Congress Brandon Sakbun spoke with the IDS in December, he conveyed a sense of hope.

Last semester, Congress passed two bills. One proposes to improve resources for international students facing setbacks due to the language barrier, and the other would let students bring pepper spray to 
Assembly Hall.

Many other proposals were delayed in the interest of creating a better strategy for the bills’ implementation. The process is called tabling. Congress tabled bills frequently last semester.

Multiple students elected to Congress were dismissed for inactivity or chose to resign last semester, and the shortage of members was a notable factor contributing to the low number of bills passed.

However, the slow pace may be by design. Sakbun said in December, Congress is trying only to pass bills that are ready to succeed. Such a goal demands much more time and preparation from Congress members as the bill is developed, but the outcome is a proposal better suited for implementation.

The Supreme Court

Though there weren’t any full court decisions to be reached last semester, Supreme Court justices were still busy serving on panels for academic and personal misconduct hearings.

The justices will do the same this semester in addition to fulfilling their duty to ensure fairness in the IUSA election.

“The past few spring semesters have led to very interesting IUSA election outcomes that the Court has reviewed,” Justice Andrea Testin said in an email. Testin said some elections do not call for justices to review disputes.

Like last semester, academic and personal misconduct hearings will continue to be a large part of the Supreme Court members’ job descriptions.

“Each justice on the court strives to ensure the decisions made in student code of conduct and academic misconduct hearing commissions are fair, understanding, and in the spirit of correction, not punishment,” Dark said in an email.

Testin discussed the positive personal effect of serving on a panel.

“Some of the decisions have been difficult, especially when a student’s ability to graduate, stay at IU, study abroad, etc. is on the line, but I truly enjoy trying to help other students walk through the process of taking ownership and changing for the better because, in reality, we all make mistakes and have to learn from them — it’s part of life,” Testin said in an email.

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