President for a day: Switch roles

Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to be in charge of IU? Have you wondered how much pressure administrators are under in dealing with many of the issues on campus? Maybe you have wondered how it feels to have a powerful position among IU administrators. Maybe you have had a few ideas about what could be changed or made better about IU. Maybe you just want an excuse not to go to class.\nLike something based on MTV's "Flipped," a show where two different people switch roles for a day, the IU Student Foundation, IU Student Association and the IU Student Alumni Association are co-sponsoring the President for a Day contest. The contest picks a winner to switch places with Myles Brand and see what life is really like for the president of IU, while Brand takes the student's place. \nNow, if you are interested in making big decisions for IU while Brand takes notes for you about economics, don't get your hopes up. The big decisions will be left up to Brand, but the contest winner can voice complaints and concerns in meetings with administrators. Not only that, but the winner gets to have Brand fill his or her place in classes and extra-curricular activities, where Brand will be able to gain a little more insight on student life. \nThis contest is an excellent idea because it's one of the chances for students to express themselves directly to the administration. Whoever wins this contest has the chance to question administrators on pertinent campus issues. Such as: Can the hours at the all-you-can-eat food courts be adjusted, why do we have class on Labor Day, why IU doesn't have a fall break and why do students lose credit hours and money if they want to switch their major to one in a different school of study. Sure, students can gripe and complain about this stuff to each other and their professors, but they don't have the power to do anything or change anything. Writing letters to the opinion page in the newspaper might even make an impression on administrators, but a letter or a guest column might not be enough to persuade them to change a rule. Whoever wins this contest has the power to be the voice of the students of IU and address concerns that students may have for one day.\nWhile the contest winner is busy taking the president's place, Brand will be in classes, living the life of a student for a day. He'll get the opportunity to talk to students and see how some of his decisions have affected them. He'll experience first hand how hard it is to stay awake during a 9:30 a.m. lecture. He may be sweating over what the student in his place is doing while trying not to get hit by bikers on a crowded sidewalk.\nBut when the day is over for the contest winner, and when they have finished expressing the complaints they have and possible solutions, which role would they rather take on: President of IU or student? Is going to class and dealing with the pressures of grades and housing applications better than dealing with issues and decisions that affect the entire faculty and student body of IU? Only the contest winner can find out which position really is better.