Platform checkup

Reformed budget

The new 2011-2012 IUSA budget is already written and will hit the floor of Congress on April 19 for voting. The proposed budget will reduce overhead spending from 73 percent to 33 percent. This cut was achieved through the elimination of executive salaries and cell phone plans, as well as slashing of department budgets.

“That’s tough for us. That’s tough for some of our departments. Every one of us is going to have to make sacrifices. It’s not that we think that their or our mission is any less than it was last year, but we think we can operate on less.”

Medical amnesty

Kingsolver has already met with state legislators to begin building strong relationships and support for the platform that he calls “a tough sell.” The recent election of a Purdue student body president who also ran on a medical amnesty platform will aid in Kingsolver’s efforts, he said.

Campus mapping app

“We’re very, very far along with that,” Kingsolver said.

IU informatics students are currently developing the program. A fully functional, albeit plain, model is expected by Welcome Week in the fall and a complete “pretty” version is expected by December.

Ecofont

Originally a reviveIU platform, the Big Ten administration is seeking to bring the Europe-based company’s ink-saving system to IU. The administration was given a $109,000 quote on a four-year pilot program but has been able to negotiate the cost down to $5,000 for a three-year program. If it is successful, IU will be the first U.S. post-secondary school to enact the program. Kingsolver would like to purchase the program by late May and pilot it during the summer in five to six computer labs.

Office makeover

The new Big Ten administration will bring a fresh look to the IUSA office in the Student Activities Tower. Kingsolver, with his executives, plans to personally paint and clean the office to the tune of $4,000.

“The office is very old and decrepit. It’s not very professional right now. It needs to look professional because we need a place where we can bring administrators and they will take students seriously,” he said.

The new look will help facilitate the increased use of the office, which Kingsolver intends to be utilized by members of not only the executive branch but members of Congress, the Supreme Court and funding board.

Rape crisis fund

Kingsolver is concerned about the welfare of the Rape Crisis Fund, which supports RAISE and Middle Way House, the steward of which is IUSA.

“It has been dangerously close to dying,” he said.

When registering for classes, Kingsolver would like as many students as possible to check the box in support of the fund.