T.I.S., IUSA raise scholarship money

T.I.S. College Bookstore employees handed a check to the IU Student Association for $7,782.06 Tuesday. The money, which will be allocated to various students as $500 and $1,000 scholarships, was part of an initiative by both organizations to give back to students. \nThe money was raised through the sale of $2 Crimson Planners, which went on sale at the beginning of the semester and are still available at T.I.S.\n"This is an example of how a small business (is) giving back to the students," IUSA President senior Tyson Chastain said. "There is no (grade point average) or activity involvement or any prerequisite needed to receive the scholarship."\nThe effort is also seen as a way to assist students who might have trouble paying off their expenses, said IUSA Vice President senior Scott Norman.\n"This will give students more funding to come to the University," he said. "This is definitely helping out."\nNorman said T.I.S. approached IUSA with ideas of how to aid students who have been patronizing the store for many years.\n"They were looking at a way to give back to the students," Norman said. "They were very supportive and knew that college and textbooks are very expensive. It's upsetting to pay a large amount for textbooks in addition to the other expenses students have to pay."\nChastain said he and other IUSA officials approached students at home football games to ask them what they thought about receiving a scholarship. \n"Students were surprised to know that receiving a scholarship from this initiative didn't require any criteria but to just apply," he said. \nT.I.S. Marketing Manager Mike Mann said the relationship between T.I.S. and IUSA was well-established before the sale of the Crimson Planner.\n"We had worked with IUSA last year to name the Crimson Guard at the men's home basketball game," he said. "It was an easy fit, giving the proceeds to a student organization that represents the student body."\nMann said T.I.S. was very happy with the result of the Crimson Planner effort.\n"It was our goal to raise a lot of money for student scholarships," Mann said. "We are very pleased in spite of the fact that this is another student planner. We were hoping students would buy the planners to support the other students and themselves."\n-- Contact staff writer Eric Tash at etash@indiana.edu.