Dear Fellow Students:\nWe feel the need to respond to recent campaign promises and activities that have been making a mockery of IUSA as an institution and of the student body in Bloomington during the past month. Some IUSA tickets have proposed a "wet campus" policy, promoting a campus-wide party atmosphere with alcohol consumption on campus, cheaper books so students can purchase even more alcohol with the savings and the ability to avoid arrest if you are walking home from the bars or a party while intoxicated, even if you are underage. Propaganda with such high visibility weakens the respectability of an IU degree.\nIU does not have the jurisdiction to overrule state or federal laws or any national fraternity or sorority charters. Indiana and United States laws still apply to Indiana University, and if you are caught drinking underage anywhere in the state of Indiana, it is illegal. If you are 21 or older and live on campus in certain designated areas, such as the Willkie residence hall, you are allowed to drink, no questions asked. Some parties and receptions catered on campus within the rules of the specific venue are allowed to serve alcohol to those of legal age, i.e. tailgating fields. This fact negates much of the argument made about alcohol availability to legal age drinking on campus, and as stated earlier, underage drinking is a state law, decided by the state of Indiana. \nNo IUSA ticket this year is involved with the Campus-Community Coalition on Alcohol, the body of IU faculty, staff, community leaders and student leaders who make the recommendations to the IU administration regarding alcohol. If these groups are as concerned with the campus alcohol issue, they would have attended a meeting before telling you what they believe you want to hear. From those of us members on the CCCA, we do not discount their feelings that something needs to be done about alcohol at this University. We wholeheartedly agree. However, we feel the hype generated by these tickets only creates a larger uphill battle for the student population through the misperception that the majority of the student body wants unlimited alcohol accessibility. \nIUSA receives more than $100,000 from student fees every year specifically earmarked to promote student interests. IUSA along with SRSA helped initiate the building of the SRSC, created the Safety Escort Program and initiated the Student Rights Program, which assists students going through the judicial process. This organization can have a powerful impact in student life on campus, if the best people are elected. \nVoting in the elections can be a fast, coerced decision, especially for first-time voters, but it is a decision that should receive some thought. You should vote for a ticket that you feel will spend your money on realistic goals and that will do the best job representing your voice. If you feel that your intelligence is being undermined by promises that aren't viable and insulting campaign tactics, we encourage you to think about the feasibility of these goals when making your decision. \nThank you,
Justin Barnes (Concerned Alumni), Katie Beyer (Concerned Student), Gray Bouchillon (Mortar Board), Matt Brodahl (Concerned Student), Maggie Brozio (SAA), Leonard D. Bryant (TRUE), Eric Butterbaugh (Concerned Student), Amanda Carmichael (College Democrats), Aimee Dawson (Concerned Alumni), Jennifer Feinstein (ADIC), Drew Goldberg (Concerned Student), April Gonzales (Concerned Alumni), Eric J. Hafner (RHA President), Catherine Haines (SRSA), Matt Hall (Concerned Student), Abhishek Khemka (Concerned Student), Doug Lewandowski (Concerned Student), Libby Lewis (Concerned Student), Andrea Linton (SAA), D'andre May (SAA), David Meek (Concerned Student), Jennifer Miller (Concerned Student), Dan O'Neill (IU College Democrats), Christina Nelson (CCCA), Jon Schurger (CCCA), Erin Sparks (SRSA President), Kirk Walda (SAA), Laura Walda (CCCA), Evan Waldman (Past IFC President), Mark Warner (SAA), Liz Weikes (CCCA), M. Javier Zaragoza (RHA Vice President)
