Student elections start today

With each passing season, the IU Athletic Department has given students more to complain about. Unsatisfying ticket packages and unfavorable seating assignments have caused many students to become frustrated with their experiences at IU basketball and football games.\nIt comes as no surprise that athletic ticketing has become a major issue for the candidates in this week's IU Student Association elections. Although Action, Crimson and Unity all want to improve the student athletic experience, each hopes to accomplish this goal in its own way.\nCrimson presidential candidate Casey Cox said his ticket will take its lead from the student body.\n"Crimson wants to reach students through books, beer and basketball," he said. "We love IU athletics. It is a big part of this college."\nCrimson proposes a survey to find what athletic issues students are most dissatisfied with. If students were to overwhelmingly ask for an official student seating section nearer to the floor, the ticket would push that issue to the athletic department, Cox said.\n"We have to go to the students first," he said.\nThe Action ticket has already been working to combine the voice of IUSA with the Student Athletic Board. \nAction presidential candidate Laura Walda, who has already spoken with soon-to-be SAB President Mike Puck about student ticketing, also said student support is the key to success. \n"We want to get more student input into the system," she said. "We won't start with an antagonistic approach, but if the athletic department ignores our suggestions, we will raise quite a stink about it." \nWalda said she hopes IUSA, SAB and students will work together to end questionable athletic department practices. When the athletic department sold this season's basketball tickets past its own deadline, it refunded part of each student's ticket package fee instead of rescinding the packages of late applicants. In doing so, it kept a small handling fee from each refunded package.\n"What the athletic department thought was best was not what the students thought was best," Walda said. "They said they wanted every student to be able to see a game. The handling fee was not much, only about $5, but that much from each student is a lot of money."\nUnity also plans to create a dialogue with students and the athletic department. In addition to adjusting where students are seated at games, it hopes to add to the total number of seats allotted to students.\n"(The students) are IU's number one fans, and they are demanding greater access to the games," said Unity presidential candidate Aaron Radez.\nCurrently, most of the best basketball seating is reserved for alumni. With a finite amount of seating in Assembly Hall, an arena that sells out every game, adding student seating could decrease the availability of alumni and general admission seats.\n"That's not a problem for us," Radez said. "If there are more seats for students, then there has to be less for alumni. Students want more seats, and Unity is going to make sure they get what they deserve."\nWalda was less enthusiastic about the chances of eliminating alumni seats.\n"They contribute a lot of money to the University," she said. "It's silly to say that we can kick the alumni out of their seats."\nStill, Walda said she knows of the importance of student athletic support.\n"Students are the ones standing and cheering every play of every game, painting their bodies, wearing silly hats, yelling chants. The alumni just sit there"