Up with rape awareness; down with PeopleSoft

The decision to purchase PeopleSoft has hurt IU students once again. This time, the organization hemorrhaging money is not one the University can simply ignore.\nThe IU Student Association Rape Crisis Fund came up $9,000 short of meeting its average donation total, IUSA President Alex Shortle says, and now risks losing its status as a registration check box. This would be detrimental to our University community.\nThe Rape Crisis Fund is the primary source of money for Middle Way House rape crisis services, which include a 24-hour crisis line and an on-scene advocacy program.\nAt the implementation of PeopleSoft's registration program, INPIRG was removed from the list of groups students could mark to receive donations billed to their bursar account. Shortly afterwards, the Indiana Daily Student's sister publication, the Arbutus yearbook, found a significant decrease in orders resulting from registration difficulties. Fewer students are checking the donation boxes. \n"We're making it too easy to ignore the check-offs," Dean of Students Richard McKaig told the IDS ("Rape prevention funding in Danger," Tuesday).\nNeither INPIRG nor the Arbutus's financial qualms bothered the University enough to raise a finger for change.\nPart of this undoubtedly stems from the inability of University officials being able to hand tailor PeopleSoft, a program they outsourced to meet University needs. \nSaying the Rape Crisis Fund is a commendable program that we wish to see perpetuated would be a gross understatement. So, it is time for the University to lift a finger. Or two. Or however many it takes to permanently fix a registration program that is not intuitive, not user-friendly and not helpful to IU. \nWe need flexible software -- software that is very specific to IU. Where might the first University to offer a Ph.D. in informatics procure such software? Perhaps IU might find the answer in its own computer science and information technology programs. \nWhen issues like the Rape Crisis Fund's financial problems arise under a hand-tailored registration program, fixes follow shortly. \nIf the Rape Crisis Fund remains in danger, the University needs to find another way to financially aid this group until it can fix PeopleSoft's checkbox options. Perhaps it will require a creative public relations campaign, mass educational e-mails to students or supplemental money from IUSA and the University.\nWhatever the case, the Rape Crisis Fund needs funding. And since the University's decisions ultimately led to the fund's financial troubles, we hope it recognizes it's responsibility to fix the problem.