Entrusting new leadership

Trustees are boring. They just sit in some boardroom a few times a year to talk about IU and vote on some stuff, right?\nWrong.\nTrustees matter to students, just as students matter to trustees. The board of trustees decides tuition rates, what fees we pay and University policies. None of those matters is trivial. The board plays a crucial role in shaping IU and our college experience, and Indiana's governor can have an important effect on the trustees.\nThe board will probably change significantly in the coming year. Gov. Mitch Daniels will appoint his choice candidates for up to three of the nine trustee positions. The governor appoints a total of six seats, but only three are up for review this year. Jamie Belanger, who was elected by the alumni, holds one of the other spots. \nBelanger, the youngest-ever non-student trustee, won't run to retain his position this summer. He said he is stepping down so an experienced member of the board can run as an "incumbent." That move clears the way for Trustee Patrick Shoulders to be elected. If Daniels chooses not to reappoint current members, more than half of the board would have less than a year of experience.\nAlthough having several newcomers won't necessarily hurt the board, having a few trustees who know the ropes and can lend an established perspective on issues would be good.\nThere certainly isn't room for partisan politics on IU's board of trustees, but the board will have to deal with the tight state budget's effects. If Daniels chooses to appoint new trustees, he will be selecting people he trusts. New and veteran trustees alike will face the unenviable task of balancing the interests of every IU student, professor and staff member. A lot of people need quite a bit from the University, and the same people all have lengthy wish lists.\nWe hope the next slate of trustees will not allow a fee to be passed again without student input, such as the athletics fee that was approved last year. We trust the trustees who serve on the board will take careful, deliberate actions that are in the students' long-term best interests. Belanger offered a perspective unique on the board to everyone except the student trustee: He was just a handful of years removed from the undergraduate experience at Bloomington. Although any trustee will try to keep students in mind, there's nothing like having a voting member who has fresh memories of paying bursar bills on a tight budget, going to advising meetings and navigating a school of almost 40,000 students.\nThe bottom line is that students need to pay attention to the trustees. If you want something to change at IU, the trustees can make things happen. The catch is, it might or might not happen the way you want it to.