Drinking, free speech on IUSA agenda

Vote for Pedro won last year's student government election by a margin of fifty votes, promising free T-shirts for basketball and football season ticket holders, more free speech zones on campus and an increase in education concerning alcohol issues. \nAlex Shortle, president of the IU Student Association, said IUSA has achieved two of the goals promised during its campaign and is working on reaching two more. \nAmong upcoming priorities, drinking regulations rank high on the list. \n"It is understood that students will drink -- it's part of college," Shortle said. "The key is that policies need to be such that they support safe drinking." \nShortle said he wants to encourage responsible drinking, rather than making it a taboo subject. He said a good way to increase alcohol awareness is to sell beer in campus buildings.\n"I always wondered why we don't sell alcohol in the Union," he said. "Why don't we have a beer garden showing graduate students, faculty and staff drinking responsibly?"\nBrad Allen, Union Board marketing director, said a Union beer garden would not be plausible.\nAllen said alcohol is occasionally sold in the Union at catered, usually private, functions.\nShortle said he hopes to open discussion between student leaders, the dean of students and members of the community to create policies that discourage students from practicing unsafe behaviors when they drink. He said students should not be afraid to be out in public after drinking. \n"We push people off lawns into houses ... we regulate drinking so that it's better to take a bunch of shots of vodka than sit out on your porch and drink beer," he said. "Students generally feel safer driving home than walking home because it's quicker and they're contained. We need to support them walking home when they're only slightly intoxicated." \nIU Dean of Students Richard McKaig said IUSA has some influence over IU Bloomington's alcohol policy, but the University is bound to state laws, over which it has no influence. \nIUSA Vice President Will Leckey said this initiative ties in to a current campaign to increase awareness of a Bloomington ordinance requiring residents to keep the noise levels down between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. \n"If they can hear any noise from the street, the cops can come up to your property and issue a citation for $50," he said. "But what usually happens is they come up and issue a $50 violation, and then they say, 'Oh, you have a beer in your hand, can I see an ID?'"\nTonight, Leckey and other members of IUSA will put door hangers explaining the ordinance on doorknobs of 5,000 Bloomington residents. IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the police force does not regulate drinking outside of state policies. People drinking beer on a porch aren't going to be approached by the IUPD unless they are doing something illegal, he said.\nIn addition, Minger said he believes overlooking underage drinking that is practiced safely could lead to a slippery slope of enforcement.\n"If I beat you up and apologize, is it OK to overlook that law also? How far do we take overlooking or tolerating offenders?" Minger said.\nTo further increase the student voice, Shortle said IUSA is also looking to add more free speech zones on campus. Currently, Dunn Meadow is the designated free speech zone on campus. \n"We like to say 'Dunn Meadow is done,'" he said.\nMcKaig said the University is supportive of increasing free speech opportunities campus-wide. \n"We may literally lose the term 'free speech zone,'" he said. "More likely we'll just set down parameters for wherever it is." \nShortle said two important goals set by IUSA have already been achieved. Students with season tickets to basketball or football games will receive a coupon with their tickets inviting them to pick up their free T-shirts at T.I.S. Bookstore. The student government's readership program, which provides students with access to copies of The New York Times and USA Today in various places on campus, has been met with success, Shortle said, but requires an awareness campaign.\n"A lot of kids don't realize that they are, in fact, free," he said.The readership program is funded through a $2 annual fee charged to each student. \nShortle said perhaps the most critical part of his job will be increasing student feedback.\n"I'm supposed to be able to say that this is a student voice, and honestly I couldn't say that right now because we aren't strong enough as an organization," he said. "I need to know the students' voice"