Meet the IUSA candidates: Big Ten

Justin Kingsolver, presidential candidate
Back for round two, Justin Kingsolver said he is confident that March 1-2 will bring his ticket, Big Ten, a victory.

The junior and Wells Scholar has previous IU Student Association involvement through the legislative branch, where he served as speaker of Congress during his sophomore year. After running unsuccessfully last season, Kingsolver spent the last year developing relationships with state legislators and IU administrators.

“I learned a lot along the way. I don’t know if I was ready last year. I tried to convince myself that I was, but I didn’t know the ins and outs of IUSA at that point,” he said. “I didn’t know how to run a student campaign. I didn’t have the relationships built that I needed. I think I am ready now.”

Kingsolver said he views IUSA as a connector between student organizations rather than as the head of student governance.

“In the past, IUSA has been viewed as the supreme student organization, and I don’t see it as that,” he said. “IUSA is a student organization that other student organizations can go to when they need to be connected to administrators, University staff, departments or services that they need. IUSA is supposed to embody the interest of every major student group on campus.”

Kingsolver said he doesn’t believe individual executives should be the focus of IUSA.
“This is not my student government. This is not about me. This is not about my legacy. This is about what we as a compilation of 150 or 200 students can do to better this campus. IUSA belongs to everyone,” he said.

“I’ve been told ‘You can’t do that’ and ‘That’s too much for a student government to do,’” Kingsolver said. “No, it isn’t. It’s too much for the current student government to do because they’re not dreaming big.”

Kingsolver said he defends his statewide initiatives, which he believes are equally worthwhile and feasible pursuits.

“There’s a mentality that IUSA stops at IU’s end, and I would agree, most of our programs should focus on IU,” he said. “But if we can show every other school in the Big Ten, legislators and business leaders that we are serious about solving these huge issues, then I think that that benefits our entire generation.”

The ticket has reached out to nearly 100 student organizations, yet Kingsolver acknowledged that there are still more groups to reach.

“We haven’t reached out to as many multicultural organizations as I would like to have done,” he said. “That is just because there are only so many hours in the day. And unfortunately we can’t get to everybody.”

Big Ten has already visited Jewish and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender organizations. Members of both communities on the ticket’s senior staff identify with these groups, and the ticket hopes to speak with African-American groups on campus before elections. 

”A lot of that is because there is an African-American on our opposition,” he said. “A lot of that is locked up already. You can’t go after a voting block that is already pledged.”

Big Ten will gain both volunteers and votes from the greek community, which Kingsolver says is “incredibly important.”

“It’s a very easy way to get 100 people together and get 100 votes at once,” he said. “I am the only person running for president that lives in a greek house, and that resonates with people. It’s an easy organizational tool. If there was an easy way to tap into everyone else, I would.”

Stephanie Kohls, vice-presidential candidate for Congress

When campaigning in high school for student government, sophomore exercise science major Stephanie Kohls baked hundreds of cookies to help her earn votes.

This year, the candidate for vice president of Congress on the Big Ten ticket is relying on the ticket’s platforms.

“Our platforms are really solid, and they are platforms that we have already began working on. We know that we can get them done within our term. They are things that will not only change our campus, but things that we hope to change for the whole state,” Kohls said.

One such statewide platform is Big Ten’s medical amnesty law proposal, which would grant safe passage to hospitals for students seeking medical attention for overconsumption of alcohol or drugs, according to the ticket’s website.

“It’s not just a state legislative issue. It’s a really serious issue on campus. People are just turning a blind eye to it. When we get this passed, it will change our campus and prevent tragedies on campus,” she said.

Kohls, like many other executive Big Ten candidates, is involved in greek life, serving as external social chair at Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.

“While we do have greek backgrounds, it’s not what we’re targeting. Our ideas and platforms aren’t greek-specific,” she said.

As vice president of Congress, one change Kohls said she would like to implement is for students to more easily connect with their representative in the IU Student Association Congress through a revamped Congress website, which would provide contact information and biographies of Congress representatives.

She said she would also like to have biweekly meetings with Congress committee chairpeople to keep an open dialogue between the two branches of IUSA.
High voter turnout is crucial on election days, she said.

“For an IUSA ticket to be effective, we need as many people to vote as possible. You’re going to have a stronger impact from the campus. I really encourage people to ask questions and know the facts. Know, no matter who they’re voting for, that they’re voting for the people that they know will do the right job,” she said.

Kohls said she has enjoyed campaigning to approximately 80 student organizations during the course of the last three weeks.

“It has opened my eyes to what is going on campus and given me a different perspective on what IU students can really do and how we can make change on campus,” she said.

Kevin Courtney, vice-presidential candidate for administration

Kevin Courtney, junior and health administration major, is the Big Ten candidate for vice president of administration for the IU Student Association.

Courtney is a member of Sigma Chi, where he has served as chapter president, and is also the vice president of member development on the Interfraternity Council.
He said he believes these experiences, along with connections made by other ticket members in their respective organizations, will bring a fresh, personally connected approach to IUSA.

“The biggest thing is that we exemplify an actual student’s experience at IU,” he said.
First becoming involved with IUSA last year, Courtney worked on Justin Kingsolver’s Kirkwood ticket, helping to spread the word through the greek system. From that experience, he said he formed a working relationship with Kingsolver.

“One of the things that I want is to have tangible, quick benefits that students can see right away and focus on improving the culture for years to come, thinking forward to the next administrations,” he said.

He cited “resounding” Big Ten platforms such as creating a medical amnesty law, enacting textbook reform and changing the culture at Assembly Hall through the basketball student section.

“Once our year is over, there will be a breadth of initiatives that will be around for a while. Everyone loves the culture here at IU, but you can always improve,” he said.
Looking toward the last week of campaigning, the biggest challenge is getting students to understand how platforms will affect them personally, he said. 

“I think our biggest challenge is that we’re going up against two experienced tickets in their own right. It’ll just be who can convey that their platforms are going to touch the most individual students,” he said. “Our biggest point is to listen to everyone’s platforms, and while you’re listening, make sure that you’re thinking about yourself, as selfish as that sounds. How will this ticket directly affect me?”