Athletics fee to be voted on today

The board of trustees is voting on the renewal of the $30 athletics fee and a possible tuition increase in the Frangipani Room today at 8:30 a.m. \nThe athletics fee is being opposed by IUSA, the Bloomington Faculty Council and the College Republicans, while IU President Adam Herbert has come out in support of the charge.\n"We understand that some fees are necessary for certain programs that benefit students," said College Republican Chair Andrew Lauck. "But paying for one department's debt doesn't give students any benefits."\nIUSA and the College Republicans are co-sponsoring an anti-athletic fee rally in the Walnut Room at the IMU from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. today, Lauck said.\nHerbert said it's the students responsibility to help support the IU Athletics Department.\n"First, they (students) are not subsidizing the athletics department," he said. "Second, there is no free lunch."\nHerbert said an alternative could be giving up the free entry IU students enjoy to most athletic events or paying market price for football and basketball tickets.\n"And we can tell students, you have to pay to attend all athletic events on the campus. Now most of those are free," Herbert said. "Right now, 8,000 tickets are being held by students out of 17,000 seats at deeply discounted prices."\nAlex Shortle, IUSA president, said if the fee is renewed, it would mark the first time in history an IU president sided against IUSA's Committee for Fee Review.\n"The sole voice of the students said 'no' to the fees because we came to the conclusion that it doesn't benefit students," Shortle said.\nTrustees also debated the possible pitfalls of the revised Student Rights and Responsibilities code, discussed a new family leave policy and debated a new background check policy at their monthly meeting Thursday. All of the proposals examined were in their first reading stages, and will be discussed further at the board's June meeting. \nIU student leaders, as well as trustees, presented both concerns and compliments about the new code to Robert Yost and Mary Popp, co-chairs of the Student Affairs Committee.\n"There are no real philosophical changes (in the code)," Popp said. "The goal is to make it clearer and more flexible for students."\nChanges to the code include a more explicit definition of students' rights to raise issues and express alternative opinions in class, a more in-depth definition of plagiarism and a better definition of the University's right to respond to misconduct off campus, Popp said.\n"Fewer than 10 percent of students are accused of violating the code," said dean of students Richard McKaig. "But hopefully now, it's easier to read. The committee did a very good job of making a complex document clearer and briefer."\nThe major concerns that will be further discussed in June's meeting were the code's proposed universal application to all IU campuses and questions about the role of advisors in the student judicial process.\nMatt Dattilo, associate director of the IUSA department of student rights, said that the code should not be used as a "one size fits all" rule book for all IU campuses. Instead, the code should be campus-specific, allowing for different policies and procedures to fit each of the satellite campuses' cultures, Dattilo said.\nSome trustees were concerned that the revised policy would not allow an advisor to speak for a student in a misconduct hearing.\n"The policy doesn't exclude an advisor," said BFC President David Daleke. "The advisor can't speak for students, but can sit right next to them and consult them during the hearing."\nVice President of the board Stephen Ferguson also brought up the concern that foreign students may need an advisor to speak for them because an unfamiliarity with the language or culture.\nPopp responded that flexibility might need to be in the code for circumstances such as that one.\n"I hope there will be ongoing discussion and the trustees can hear from students (before June's meeting)," said Trustee Sue Talbot.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Mike Wilson at mhwilson@indiana.edu.