Ticket wants 'wet' campus

IU Student Association elections are fast approaching, and students are already scrambling to organize their tickets.\nThe Big Red ticket has officially announced its candidacy for the 2004 IUSA election campaign. IUSA allows voters to cast a straight-ticket ballot for one party, including candidates for the executive and legislative positions.\nHeaded by junior Katie Diggins, the group of 50 legislative and executive candidates will run on a platform based on achieving a wet campus, cutting the burden of tuition and books and dealing with on-campus parking issues. They will run under the slogan "Go big or go home."\n"Our main ambition for this campaign is to take this window that we see with a new president and a new chancellor and aim high," said Diggins, who is running for president. "We've got a great group of people with experience as well as a lot of new people that are bringing fresh ideas."\nSenior Angel Rivera, running for vice president, said he believes Big Red can accomplish its goals through cooperation with the administration.\n"The first step is coming up with objective, reasonable proposals for the administration," he said. "If you give them a good, solid proposal, they'll usually approve it. The issues we want to address are issues that are bothering them, too, but that they don't know how to fix."\nDiggins said one of the party's high priorities is establishment of a "wet" campus. \nTechnically, IU is not a fully "dry" campus because some 21-and-over residence halls -- such as Ashton-Weatherly -- allow alcohol under certain conditions, said Dean of Students Richard McKaig in a previous IDS article. However, the federal definition of a "wet" campus includes only schools which have bars in their student union buildings.\nDiggins said although Big Red doesn't advocate the establishment of a bar on campus, she feels a more open alcohol policy would benefit IU's reputation and student safety.\n"We're not saying 'Let's have all-out drinking on campus,'" Diggins said. "But let's admit that it happens, so we can have some reasonable guidelines."\nRivera said current policies discriminate against older students.\n"If the law says that I can have a beer, why would the chancellor say I can't have a beer in my room?" Rivera said. \nHe added Bloomington's current alcohol prosecution policies should be amended.\n"You shouldn't leave college with a criminal record because you wanted to have a beer," he said. "If my buddy passes out, and he's sick, I should be able to take him to the hospital without thinking, 'Oh man, I'm gonna get into trouble.'"\nSenior Steve Barr said he likes the idea of a wet campus, if Big Red could get it passed.\n"(A wet campus would) help keep students safe," he said. "We've had deaths in the Greek system before."\nThe ticket will also attempt to relieve students of some of the financial burden of college, Diggins said. She said professors could take advantage of IU's e-reserve system by offering online course packets. Big Red also advocates scholarships that keep pace with tuition increases.\nIf elected, Diggins said her administration would also take on parking-related issues on campus by calling for new parking decks near the Main Library and Teter Quad.\n"IU wrote 88,000 tickets last year alone," she said. "That's huge revenue. Let's put it toward something that's going to help an immediate problem."\nCollins Living Learning Center president and junior John Palmer said not all of Big Red's thinking is innovative.\n"I feel like these are all important issues, but a lot of it's already being worked on by current administrations," he said. "I'd love to talk with them more about it."\nStudents who want more information should look for Big Red fliers and t-shirts around campus in the coming weeks, said campaign manager Danielle Harris. Harris said she believes the ticket's diverse background will help it achieve its goals.\n"We're going to have to work very hard with the administration," she said. "It's (about) going to them with our ideas and saying, 'How can we get this done?' This is the students' view. We're gonna bring it to the administration."\n-- Contact staff writer Mike McElroy at mmcelroy@indiana.edu.