Editor's Note: The IU Student Association elections are looming. Next week students will weigh in on who they think will do the best job. In the meantime, the five tickets -- College, Connect, Kirkwood, Vote for Pedro and What about Bobby? -- discuss a different issue each day this week with the Indiana Daily Student.
The athletics fee\nStudents are probably wondering what a new IU Student Association administration will do in terms of the mandatory $30 athletics fee. Students might also be wondering if they will have to pay an increased fee, the same $30 for the next year or no fee at all. The ticket that wins the IUSA elections will be responsible for the dialogue between students and the IU administration.
College\nThe College ticket would like to give back to students. Presidential Candidate Shane Merriweather wants to give students T-shirts for men's basketball home games and create a student section that rivals other Big Ten schools, but also offer discounts for students who attend home sporting events. College also seeks to create a more unified atmosphere at IU sports home games.\n"We want to use the athletics fee to springboard a priority ticketing system for people who chose to purchase men's basketball and football season tickets," he said.
Connect\nConnect Presidential Candidate senior John Palmer sits on the Committee for Fee Review, which makes recommendations for student fee increases or implementation. He is adamant about holding dialogue for possible fee raises or creations. \nLast year, the athletics department did not follow all procedures for receiving student support for the athletics fee.\n"Since the process was not followed for adding new fees, students didn't hear about it until two weeks before the trustees' meeting," he said. "In residence halls we set up a petition. We ended up getting more than 2,000 signatures within a week's time."\nThe idea of a more structured dialogue for fee increases between the students and administration is central to Connect's platform. Connect plans to have students sitting on advisory councils, which will assist the administration in making decisions, including on proposals such as student fees billed through the Bursar's Office. \nThe $30 athletics fee was passed last year by the board of trustees to help fund the $2 million athletics department budget deficit. This academic year, $1.1 million has been collected from students.
Kirkwood\nThe Kirkwood ticket also plans to be proactive in creating dialogue when fees are discussed. Presidential Candidate junior Bryan Strawbridge feels students should be more informed and be able to discuss the fee with the administration. \n"We feel that the students should be more informed to have a chance to have discourse with the administration, to understand where (the athletics fee) going and what it is being used for," he said.
Vote for Pedro\nGiving back to the student community is an approach Vote for Pedro will take if elected. The ticket understands the fee might never go away and students will continue to pay $30 to help the athletics department pay off deficits. Vice-presidential Candidate Will Leckey also proposes giving students free T-shirts at basketball games as a way to mitigate student grief about the fee while simultaneously showing support for IU's athletics teams.\n"We recognize that we can't just go to the University administration and say 'Hey, you guys are in debt by millions of dollars, don't put the fee on us,'" he said. "It's so easy to get a shirt; why not look good while we're in there."\nVote for Pedro believes the T-shirts will create a more unified student body and a more enjoyable environment at the games.
What About Bobby?\nThe What About Bobby? ticket believes the problem with the athletics fee lies within the men's basketball program. Presidential Candidate Eric Wolok sees the fee as $30 student payment for what he calls Mike Davis' "mistakes."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eric Tash at etash@indiana.edu.
