Big Red wins IUSA election

3 tickets file complaints with IUSA over code violations\nA round of applause greeted seniors Katie Diggins and Angel Rivera as they entered the Fiji house formal room Wednesday night. \nThe respective presidential and vice presidential candidates had arrived to announce Big Red's victory in the 2004 IU Student Association elections to the rest of the ticket. Clearly, they were already aware.\n"There was some screaming, some hugs," Diggins said. "It's a big responsibility, and we're going to do the best we can. Tonight, we're going to celebrate. Tomorrow, we'll see what this all means."\nElections Coordinator Derek Molter released the results via e-mail at 5 p.m. Big Red claimed 3,172 votes. Runner-up Crimson received 2,817 votes, Fusion garnered 2,655 votes and Hoosier Party arrived at a distant fourth place with 236 votes. Big Red will take office April 15.\nDiggins said she looks forward to taking office in the spring.\n"I'm going to sit down in that chair and have a pretty big smile on my face," she said. "Maybe with the hands behind the head and just smile out the window."\nWhile certainly not as excited, Crimson Treasurer Candidate Gwen Hobley remained upbeat about her party's narrow loss.\n"No matter what happens, we all had a blast," she said. "We just had so much fun these last 36 hours. We all put so much work into it, it's hard not to be bummed out."\nHoosier Party Presidential Candidate Aaron Radez said he was surprised at the low support for his party, which relied heavily upon its Web site. Radez said data from the site indicated Hoosier Party would secure roughly 1,500 votes.\n"Apparently, people went there, they liked our site, they liked what we had to say but they didn't vote," he said. "We got more votes for favorite performer than that."\nThe elections code allows for parties to file complaints as late as 5 p.m. the day after the election, and this year, three tickets took the opportunity.\n "We just went for things we felt influenced the results," said Big Red Campaign Manager Danielle Harris, citing Fusion staffers' proximity to the library and Crimson's taping of fliers to sidewalks as chief complaints. "We felt it wasn't necessarily worth it to file nit-picky things."\nFusion Presidential Candidate Dan Shapiro said Fusion filed a "fairly significant" complaint against Big Red but preferred not to comment on the issue. Fusion candidates stayed 50 feet from the libraries at all times, he said. \n"I am a little bit upset with some of the tactics that were used (by other parties)," Shapiro said. " I guess we just ran too clean a campaign."\nRadez said Hoosier Party filed complaints regarding improper use of e-mail and "vandalism of private property near the campus" against Big Red as well. Big Red campaigners were asked by the IU Police Department to refrain from painting the railroad bridge over 10th Street Feb. 22.\nHoosier Party received complaints about Crimson hazing and intends to file those as well, Radez said.\n"A member of the Greek community has come to both us and Fusion but wishes to remain anonymous," Radez said.\nBig Red Staffer Jeff Wuslich defended his ticket's practices.\n"In the past year, the number of complaints after an election have increased," he said. "While we had hoped this year would be different, we are sure that the process will be fair and just."\nCrimson Congressional Candidate Scott Norman said his ticket will not file complaints.\n"We try to run a clean fair campaign," he said in response to the Hoosier Party allegations. "I'm confident that the elections code and the Student Code of Ethics will hold up. It was our intention to stay within the rules, and you can't do any more than that."\nComplaints will be heard Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Solarium.\nWith the elections out of the way, Big Red will look to next year's issues. Rivera said Big Red's ambitious agenda will prove challenging. He said he will get to work the moment he sets foot in office.\n"I'm gonna put a copy of our platform right on the wall," he said. "This election is like a contract. The students voted for us, and now we have to give them what they asked from us. It's a big responsibility."\nFor now, Rivera said he will attend to some of the other details in his life.\n"The greatest thing about the election being over is that I can count on six hours of sleep a night," he said. "I woke up this morning and said, 'Oh, crap. I have a test today. I'm sure I'll do fine.'"\nVoter turnout up 50 percent, 2,843 votes from last year's elections\nAfter bowing out of the national presidential race, Gen. Wesley Clark made an even poorer showing in this year's IU Student Association election. \nClark, nominated via write-in, received only one vote.\nStill, IU Student Association voter turnout reached an all-time high with exactly 9,067 students casting ballots. The Big Red ticket racked up 3,172 of those votes, giving them the win.\n"I was absolutely thrilled at the voter turnout," said Big Red President-Elect Katie Diggins. "The first thing I said was 'that is a credit to every ticket involved, win or lose.' That means that we all had very strong people running."\nOnly 6,224 students voted in last year's race, making the 2004 turnout a 50 percent increase.\nElections Coordinator Derek Molter said although he wasn't sure what caused the high number of voters, the results lend credibility to the organization.\n"Any time more people participate in an electoral process, it strengthens that process," he said. "The surprise was that voter turnout was so high and that all three tickets are right there right next to each other. I figured there would be two all alone at the top."\nBig Red Campaign Manager Danielle Harris attributed Big Red's numbers to resourceful tactics.\n"Our secret to success was that this year we used laptop computers in different buildings with wireless Internet," she said, adding the strategy did not violate the elections code.\nIUSA President Casey Cox said the numbers showed considerable progress in students' IUSA familiarity.\n"I think the voter turnout was phenomenal," he said. "I like to think it's indicative of the job that we tried to do this year. One of our main goals was trying to expand the credibility and knowledge of the organization."\nCox said future voter turnout will probably vary based on the candidates.\n"I think that depends on what direction the organization goes in the future and what tickets are vying for the respect of IUSA," he said.\nFor Vice President-Elect Angel Rivera, the high voter showing adds weight to Big Red's issues.\n"I think it gives more legitimacy to the need for a 'wet' campus," he said. "And many of the issues that we didn't highlight as much were effective."\nBig Red Treasurer-Elect Jason Sondhi said the ticket made an effort to boost voter turnout.\n"We really wanted to promote IUSA in general," he said. "Students need to realize that all it takes is two minutes."\n-- Contact staff writer Mike McElroy at mmcelroy@indiana.edu.