The Corvette might just work

In politics, nothing draws more attention than a scandal. And, boy, does the IU Student Association have a scandal on its hands. Buying a $40,000, $50,000, or $60,000 car (the numbers have been all over the place) to give away to voters and then finding out that, well, they can't go through with their plan, sounds incredibly scandalous. \nHowever, this whole scheme just might be incredibly successful. Now, many in the student body think that their money has been wasted. Maybe it has been. But in the midst of being a scandal, Project Vote Hard has also earned attention -- lots of it. Discussion around campus, countless IDS articles and the national media have all discussed Project Vote Hard. Just as IUSA intended, these points of discussion also mention the goal of getting students to vote for legislative candidates who will keep our tuition low.\nThere are two factors leading IUSA to try and increase student voter turnout. First, college age voter turnout is low -- embarrassingly low. Our age group votes in lower percentages than any other age group, and that means our influence on government is low. (Why would a politician help out a student if students don't vote? Or so the logic goes.)\nSecondly, the State of Indiana is running out of money. This means some programs will get cut, and higher education funding may be among them. That's not to say that IU enjoys extremely high amounts of funding in the first place. According to a 2001 study by the Indiana Education Policy Center, in-state tuition at public research universities in Indiana (as a percentage of total educational revenue) is higher than the national average. What's more, the same study points out that educational expenditures at Indiana research institutions are below the national average.\nThese statistics show that Indiana research institutions (IUB, Purdue and IUPUI) get less state funding than most other public institutions nationwide. Moreover, this is a problem that the state is not bending over backwards to change. A 2002 report from the Chronicle of Higher Education points out that 2001-2002 state spending on IU did not keep up with inflation. The report also claims that states whose finances are strapped (such as Indiana) will not be overly compelled to increase higher education funding.\nThat is unless, some group is willing to compel the Indiana General Assembly to give IU more money. If IU students vote in November and write their legislators, telling them to fund higher education, the Legislature won't think it has a free hand to cut our funding. \nIf that funding is cut, our tuitions will rise. This, hopefully, is what the spirit of Project Vote Hard is all about: Getting students to vote so that tuition won't rise. If students do make their voices heard (and follow up voting by writing to legislators), your money that IUSA spent on the Corvette will be more than compensated for in lower tuition.\nIt's still too early, though, to judge the success or failure of Project Vote Hard. Did the project gain attention for its cause? Definitely. Did it shine light on the problem of anemic college age voter turnout? Probably. Will it lead to IU students voting in November and greater representation for students in the statehouse? We can only hope. If it does, Project Vote Hard, the scandal that it is, will be even more successful.