Priority registration for athletes is alive and kicking in the minds of the student leaders. Thursday, the IU Student Association's Congress weighed in on the proposed Bloomington Faculty Council measure that would allow student-athletes to register before the rest of the student population. \nPriority registration is a proposal brought forth by the BFC to guarantee student-athletes the classes they need for graduation. Beginning in fall 2005, these students will be under more stringent guidelines by the NCAA. They must be on track to graduate after each year of college and must take the necessary classes toward graduation in order to stay eligible to participate in athletic events.\nThe bill regarding priority registration was closely examined by IUSA Congress, said President Tyson Chastain.\n"Congress ended up voting for (priority registration)," he said. "Congress split the issue into two bills -- one for priority registration and one for improving PeopleSoft. Congress wanted to show that they support student-athletes. They will be looking at the bill for improving PeopleSoft at the next Congress meeting."\nChastain said that the student voice is concerned with all students graduating and that this is not an isolated issue.\n"The students express that this is a student-athlete concern," he said. "This is not an athletic department concern."\nStudents on the Bloomington campus should be aware the BFC measure can be a practical way to solve the problems with scheduling, said junior Meghan Phillips.\n"Priority Registration is OK," she said. "If it is a way to enhance athletics and academics, then priority registration is legitimate for the BFC to accomplish their goals."
INSITE feature splits IUSA bill\nThe BFC is looking to find ways to improve PeopleSoft's OneStart by giving students a viable waitlist option, which was lost in transitioning from the Indiana Student Information Transaction Environment. The Legacy waitlist system within Insite allowed students to waitlist extra classes, drop a class if one of their waitlisted classes opened up, and drop their originally scheduled class and add their waitlisted class automatically. \nPhillips also made it clear that all students should be given the privilege to have a good waitlist option.\n"It's very difficult to get the classes that you want and at the times you want," she said. "It's very beneficial for students to get into a certain class."\nThe administration's concerns should be directed at improving the scheduling process under the current PeopleSoft arrangement, said junior Kylie Canaday.\n"I think the administration should address class availability," she said. "If students can't get the classes they want, it becomes very frustrating. Students will become discouraged under the current system. If they address all student problems with scheduling, they can also solve the athletes' issues. If they are solving the smaller problems, then it leaves more problems on a wider scale."\nCongress' reasoning to separate the issues goes further, said IUSA vice president Scott Norman.\n"The students wanted to show their support for the student-athletes," he said. "Congress separated the issues to recognize the student-athletes contribution to the University by passing the priority registration bill and at next Congress we will be voting on passing a bill to improve PeopleSoft for all students."\nNorman said all student concerns will be addressed.\n"We want to send a message to the administration that PeopleSoft needs to be improved now."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eric Tash at etash@indiana.edu.
