IUSA debate focuses on economic concerns

It’s the economy, stupid.

Members of three rival tickets sparred Thursday night at the IU Student Association Candidate Debate, covering a variety of topics crucial to the future of the University.
But perhaps none was more important than how the potential governors would deal
with a slumbering financial system.

Nearly 50 students attended for the opportunity to hear what each of the three IUSA tickets – Red-Hot, Btown and ONE University – had to say about the issues.

A central question during the debate was about the financial decisions each ticket would have to make if they were the new IUSA administration during this difficult economic time.

Chancellor Ken Gros Louis asked what financial cuts students would make if they had to make such choices.

Red-Hot would collaborate with other members of the IUSA administration and Congress to figure out with the situation is, said junior Andrew Hahn, presidential candidate of the Red-Hot ticket.

Hahn also said the Red-Hot ticket believes that premier schools should maintain their funds and that frozen faculty salaries would be an undesirable product.
Hahn said that ticket hopes to find a way of “balancing issues.”

Members of the Btown ticket said they believe some options in dealing with the financial situation should be avoided.

“No one plans across-the-board cuts,” said junior Jacob Turner, ticket supporter and stand-in for Btown treasurer. “That would be far too easy.”

Members of the ticket said they also believe capping faculty salaries is not the best option and that some units, such as the Jacobs School of Music and Kelley School of Business, have the funds to “stand on their own,” Turner said.

Members of the ONE University ticket said they believe in the “free market solution,” said junior Jeff Fraser, chief-of-staff for ONE University.

Ticket members said they do not wish to decrease faculties’ salaries, and they said they do not wish to cut the funds of top schools such as the Jacobs, Kelley and the School of Journalism.

In many aspects, the tickets have similar perspectives in how the campus should be run, but some tickets distinctly vary.

Jack McCarthy, junior and vice presidential candidate of the Btown ticket, and Hahn agreed to develop relationships with IU administrators prior to entering office and have spoken with administrators in the past to assist in developing their campaigns.

But ONE University representatives disagreed that administrators are a large priority for IUSA, saying they had not met with any administrators.

“We’re not concerned with introductions,” said second-year law student Ben Blair, presidential candidate of the ONE University ticket. “We want to represent the students right now.”

Members of each ticket expressed which platform was their highest priority.
Hahn said that for Red-Hot, it was “Your IU” – a pledge the ticket has made to use blogs, open office hours and other means of communication to better interact with the student body. Hahn also said he wants to apply for Indiana State Transport funds to help save student transportation fees.

Junior Peter SerVaas, presidential candidate for the Btown ticket, said textbooks were the main priority. SerVaas said IUSA should work with professors to turn in book lists earlier so students have a better chance of selling them back to the bookstores.
Samantha Israel, junior and vice presidential candidate for Congress for ONE

University, said members of her ticket hope to increase the community service effort within IUSA because “IUSA has been lacking in that area.”

“IUSA supports the mission of IU students accomplishing service awareness to benefit the community,” Israel said.

Throughout the debate, the candidates were tested of their University knowledge.

“The candidates did very well,” Gros Louis said. “They showed that they were knowledgeable of the campus. They dodged questions, but I expected that.”