IUSA pushes to make crisis fund visible

Since OneStart has been implemented as the class registration interface, student donations to the IU Student Association Rape Crisis Fund have dropped by more than half, Middle Way House and IUSA representatives said. \nStudents may choose to purchase event and IU sporting tickets or support a cause by checking the corresponding box on the "Optional Selections" page during class registration. Students can donate $3 to the Middle Way House Rape Crisis Center by clicking the "IUSA Rape Crisis Fund" box. \nDifferences between the old INSITE registration program and OneStart have caused student confusion and resulted in fewer boxes being checked, said Lindsay Kerrigan, IUSA director of women's affairs. IUSA and other groups are now pushing the Registrar's Office to correct the changes so that they see increases in the funding. \nDuring the spring and fall of 2002, student donations from the registration option allowed IUSA to donate $27,500 to the Rape Crisis Center, Kerrigan said. However, student donations from the registration option now total about $11,000 per year as the number continues to decrease. \nWhen INSITE was still in use, students had to check "yes" or "no" for each "Optional Selection" before pressing "Continue" to finish registration, Kerrigan said. \nOneStart does not require a "yes" or "no" decision -- students may check a box to make a selection or simply press "Continue" to bypass the page. Students must also press "Save Selections" before pressing "Continue" to record their donation, Kerrigan said. \nA recent survey of IU students conducted by Friends of Middle Way House showed some students are unaware their selections are only recorded if they press "Save Selections" before pressing "Continue," Kerrigan said. \n"(OneStart) is set up in a way that it doesn't activate the user's conscience, and it really should -- we're talking about rape," said Garrett Scharton, IUSA chief of external affairs. "The old system forced users to make a decision."\nScharton said the system is now like a "checkout process" because it is easy to breeze through without paying attention to the options.\nDuring 1987, Bloomington faced a sharp rape increase and declared a rape crisis. The Rape Crisis Center was opened in 1988 by Middle Way House at the request of the city, said Toby Strout, Middle Way House executive director. \nIU initially tried to help Middle Way House by providing space for a rape crisis center, Strout said, but a permanent home at the University was not possible. Although the University could not provide financial support, Middle Way House recognized the large group's power and asked students for support. A Middle Way House proposal to add the Rape Crisis Fund to the "Optional Selections" registration page received more than 10,000 supportive student signatures, Strout said, and the option was added. \n"The combined power of $3 student donations really helped our program," Strout said. "Recently, we've been very disappointed." \nStudents' "Optional Selection" to support the Rape Crisis Fund during registration has provided the primary source of support for the Rape Crisis Center since 1989, she said. \nDiscussions about the current setup of the "Optional Selections" page are ongoing between IUSA, Middle Way House and University officials. \n"Rape and money are both sensitive issues," Scharton said. \nRoland Coté, University registrar, said data provided to the Registrar's Office does not link the decline in selections to the new registration process. However, Coté acknowledged that "key individuals" are in discussion about the OneStart registration system. \n"We have put together some options that are being reviewed and that we hope will be in place for the upcoming registration," Coté said. \nKerrigan added that they're hoping talks this week will create productive changes. \n"Ideally, I would love to see the system change so that there are 'yes' or 'no' choices and users don't have to hit 'save' before 'Continue,'" said Kerrigan. "I would love to see Middle Way House receive the funds they need"