IUSA court denies Kirkwood

After a week of petitions and appeals, the Kirkwood ticket's struggle for a run-off election has come to an end. \nThe Student Body Supreme Court denied Kirkwood's appeal Friday on procedural grounds, citing the fact that the ticket submitted its petition past the Feb. 24 deadline. The IU Student Association Elections Commission refused Kirkwood's petition, which was filed Feb. 28, for the same reason.\nThe court addressed the Elections Commission's authority to deny the complaint, not whether Kirkwood's argument was valid, said Student Body Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Clifford.\n"The court wasn't going to second guess (the Elections Commissions') decision," he said. "We try not to have a whole lot to do with the elections."\nThe Supreme Court is the last resort for an elections appeal, and Kirkwood must now give up its attempt to have a run-off with winner Vote for Pedro.\nKirkwood Presidential Candidate Bryan Strawbridge said he thinks the court's decision hurts the student body.\n"We're disappointed in the fact that the Supreme Court didn't want to hear the case," he said. \n"In ignoring such a flagrant trampling of the (IUSA) Constitution, the Supreme Court has turned a blind eye to the fundamental rights of IU students."\nThe court did not address the validity of the Section 403 of the elections code, which states the winner of the election must have at least 40 percent of the votes or 20 percent more than the runner-up. Kirkwood lost to Vote for Pedro by a margin of 51 votes.\n"The Supreme Court was definitely dodging the issues," Strawbridge said. "They didn't want to address the real issue. They used the fact that the complaint was filed late as a scapegoat for deciding not to hear the trial."\nBut Clifford said it is not the court's responsibility to question election rules, and the statement issued by the court even cites other election scandals as a precedent for upholding the decisions of the Elections Commission.\nKirkwood Vice Presidential Candidate Jim Hoff said despite the court's decision, the Kirkwood ticket will try to stay active in student government.\n"We hope the new administration will take on some of our staffers and our platform issues," he said. \nOne of those issues -- textbook prices -- was the subject of much discussion this weekend at the Association of Big Ten Schools meeting held at IU this weekend. Executives from student governments from eight of the 11 Big Ten schools were in attendance.\n"It was a big success," said Scott Norman, current IUSA vice president of operations. "It was also important to be able to have the Big Ten student governments come to an agreement or unite on the issue of textbook prices (so) we can go to publishers with a stronger voice."\nSince three of the Vote for Pedro executives currently work for Crimson, the incoming administration was able to hear advice for their term at the meetings this weekend.\nVote for Pedro President-Elect Alex Shortle said he is eager to put the election mess behind him.\n"I'm glad that we can get to our work without being questioned," he said. \nHe will meet with current IUSA President Tyson Chastain next week to discuss some of the problems IU shares with other Big Ten schools. \n"Hopefully he'll give me some advice," Shortle said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Colleen Corley at ccorley@indiana.edu.