IUSA asks for support

College students are normally a politically apathetic bunch.\nIn fact, the U.S. Census Bureau reported only 18 of 35 percent of registered 18-24-year-olds voted during the 1990s.\nThe IU Student Association, in tandem with Hoosiers for Higher Education, is trying to reverse this trend. During the past two weeks, student body legislative representatives have launched a two-prong campaign called "Take 5 for IU" to get students involved.\nThe initiative is named for the five minutes IUSA is asking students to spend writing to their state representatives in support of higher education, IUSA President Casey Cox said.\nKatie McCauley, an IUSA legislative representative, spent the time contacting the presidents of large student organizations and urging them to have members write their state representatives.\n"I asked (the presidents) to take the first step by writing themselves, which I think all of them did," McCauley said. "Students should be given the opportunity to really exercise their rights."\nMcCaulley stressed the importance of students backing HHE, especially in the context of current legislation regarding tuition caps and higher education funding.\nHHE, a non-profit organization composed of Indiana citizens, works to make higher education a priority, according to its Web site.\nMeanwhile, IUSA Legislative Representative Jim Hoff has attempted to rally support for the Feb. 23 HHE-sponsored trip to the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.\nThe annual event gives students from each campus a chance to meet with their elected officials in person to discuss IU and higher education.\nIUSA Vice President Grant McFann said the goal is to maintain the level of funding IU receives from the state. \n"What we're doing is reversing that apathetic tone that has been labeled consistantly on our generation," Cox said.\nFreshman Louis Polychronos said though he doesn't know much about the higher education funding issue, he would likely sit down for five minutes to write his state representative if educated on the issue.\nCox said student participation in the legislative process impacts not only IU, but also the state.\n"No longer can we let tuition rise or let the credibility of the University fall," he said. "We need the state to realize that higher education is an important investment for the future of the state."\n-- Contact staff writer Mike McElroy at mmcelroy@indiana.edu.