IUSA debate draws small crowd, causing one ticket to walk out

Seeing under 50 people in attendance at this year's IU Student Association debate prompted the Unity party to leave the event just as it was beginning. Unity presidential candidate Aaron Radez used his five minute introduction to explain why he and his party were leaving.\n"Most students are not here tonight," he said to the sparsely populated room. "We are going to bring the fight to them."\nRadez then extended an open lunch invitation to anyone in the auditorium not affiliated with IUSA or a campaign ticket.\n"Unity is about the power of 'U'," Radez said. "Unfortunately, 'you' are not here tonight."\nRadez, Unity executives and ticket members left to talk to students at Wright, Teter and Ashton about what changes they would like to see in the next year.\nUnity's departure is part of a historical attendance problem at the IUSA debates. Less than ten students in attendance were unaffiliated Monday. \nThe annual debate features the executive candidates on each ticket, who answer questions asked by a panel. Afterwards, the floor is opened for questions from the audience. After Unity departed, leaving only the Action and Crimson tickets to answer questions, the debate focused on several issues involving student involvement on campus.\nParalleling the attendance problems of the debate itself, candidates answered questions about the lack of student interest in IUSA.\n"We all know that students don't get excited about student government," junior Casey Cox, presidential candidate for Crimson said. "When I was a freshman, many people didn't even know what IUSA was, and things haven't changed. Our ticket will be laid back and welcome students whenever they needed help."\nJunior Liz Weikes, Action candidate for vice-president, said disinterest in IUSA has left many students feeling alienated from their representative body.\n"The lack of openness in the IUSA office has caused students to feel uncomfortable coming to visit us," she said. "I don't know how many times I've met students who didn't know where the IUSA office was or even what IUSA is. Next year will be different. We are planning to add couches and refreshments to our offices. When people say 'I'll meet you at the IUSA office,' they will know where to go."\nBudget concerns are a major focus of the IUSA tickets this year. Since the IUSA budget is created from student fees, every IU student pays for the initiatives. In revamping the IUSA budget in the coming year, Action has planned to set aside $25,000 to create 10 new IUSA scholarships. \n"I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that providing scholarships is not a service," Eric Butterbaugh, Action candidate for treasurer said. "It might not help IUSA as a whole, but the lives of 10 families will be better because of it."\nHowever, Crimson saw the creation of new scholarships to be the administration's responsibility.\n"When you give out 10 scholarships, that helps families, but that should not be the job of student government," Grant McFann, Crimson candidate for vice-president said. "We are supposed to be the voice of the students, and the student body is not saying, 'Give us 10 new scholarships,' it's saying, 'give us a ride home from the bars at 3 a.m. on a cold night."\nThough they disagreed on scholarships, both tickets were concerned about increasing tuition costs. To alleviate the rising trend, both parties present indicated a desire to increase relations with the state legislature.\n"Tuition is rising, and it's a big problem," Cox said. "We should use our grassroots network of 30,000 students to lobby the state legislature. They are, of course, in a budget crisis right now, but they still listen closely when ideas come directly from students rather than a lobbyist."\nTo accomplish these goals, Cox recommended a student-based letter writing campaign and more IUSA trips to Indianapolis. \nJunior Laura Walda, presidential candidate for Action, agreed that more measures must be taken to lobby the state government.\n"In order to get legislative assistance, they need to hear us the whole year," she said. "We won't just visit in February. We will talk to our legislative contacts all the time"