Court denies Big Red, hands win to Crimson

Although there were a few detours along the way, Crimson finally has what it campaigned for -- the official title of IU Student Association election winners. \n"It's been a long run, but I think it's really most important that the rules were upheld," said Scott Norman, Crimson congressional secretary. "Obviously we were hoping to go about winning in another way, but we did the best job winning the election that we could, and I am confident we are going to do a good job."\nCrimson lost the general election to Big Red by a margin of 355 votes. But the Elections Commission stripped Big Red of the victory charging that the party overspent its campaign limits and failed to report all its expenditures. The Supreme Court upheld the decision, handing Crimson the victory in the election.\nCrimson will take office April 15 and is ready to get to work for the students and make whatever changes they see needed, said Crimson president Tyson Chastain.\n"Once we get there, we are going to be there to listen, and we are going to do the best we can to better student life on campus," Chastain said. "IUSA is here to listen to students and act for students. We're here for them. We welcome students to come in and talk and tell us what other things they want us to provide."\nWhile Crimson is happy that the Elections Commission and the Court ruled in its favor, the party members realize they have a lot of things awaiting them in the future including student skepticism about the legitimacy of its power.\n"We have a lot of people who are hungry and have great ideas that are ready to be a part of IUSA," Norman said. "We will prove to people that we will represent them the way they are hoping. As far as the people who are upset we aren't who they voted for, I think it'd be hard-pressed to find students on campus who couldn't find a way to relate to Crimson."\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said he believes Crimson must make it a top priority to try and improve the election process and make sure to include those voters who might not have chosen them originally.\n"They should take it as a mission to go in and change the elections process so we don't have winners being decided by contestment but instead by the voters," McKaig said. "I think they have a challenge to reach out to the other groups and get on with the party platform they ran on and cover the issues."\nMcKaig said this election is just another example of a year where post-election issues dominate. He said student frustration mounts after each year's extended process.\n"It seems we've had disputes for the past several years, and I think students are beginning to lose faith in IUSA and the process when these contestments continue to happen," McKaig said. "This is happening on other campuses, too, not just here, but it is still an issue our local student government has to address."\nNorman said, despite the controversy, he feels Crimson will be able to achieve success in office.\n"I have an open-door policy, and anyone who wants to share their opinions is welcome to," Norman said. "I'm confident once we get into office, the things we can do to benefit students can apply to everyone on this campus. The bottom line is we have to prove ourselves, and we will."\nCrimson Vice President Jesse Laffen said he is ready to put all the controversy surrounding the election behind him.\n"I have nothing but confidence that students and the administration will look back on our administration and deem it successful," he said.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.