IUSA: Beef up the Web site

The ability of a people to look into the workings of their government is not only a promise to campaign on, it is an essential link in the connection between constituents and the administration they elected. At IU, this relationship grows from students’ easy access to the inner workings of IUSA.

For a group whose classy Web site boasts the slogan “working for you,” having not posted bylaws or meeting minutes for the past year online is disappointing. This contradiction could be easily remedied; regularly updating a Web page and blog is a quick fix that could begin to establish trust and commitment between this group and the average student, about whom student leaders appear to know and care little.

The current administration, when asked about its lack of commitment to its most easily accessed communication tool — its Web site — responded by citing that it is one of the least visited IU Web sites. It also appears to be one of the least updated.

The disconnect embodied by IUSA and its Web site is indicative of a government whose Congress has yet to pass a single resolution this year and whose members have not taken the time to post their happenings and discussions.

When IUSA begins to reach out through practical resources such as its Web site, the student body will respond. When IUSA begins to shed some light on exactly what it has accomplished and what it is working toward, the student body will have a reason to be interested in its work. When IUSA begins to take itself seriously, so will the student body.  

All of this begins with a commitment to an accessible and open government that the incoming administration has the opportunity to build.

E-mail: schammoo@indiana.edu