IUSA Congress prepares for fall term

The legislative branch of the IU Student Association, called Congress, will be back in session next week with a few changes.

What’s new

New this year, student members will vote with the help of a new clicker system.

IU has a deal with Turning Technologies, an Ohio-based audience response company.
They will provide IUSA with polling software and 62 hand-held clickers at an estimated cost of just less than $2,000.

Stephanie Kohls, vice president of IUSA Congress, said she views the clickers as an investment for future IUSA congresses. She said the clickers will help speed up voting, bypassing traditional roll calls.

 IUSA will still keep track of how individual congress members vote but won’t have the pressure to vote with the chorus of “yeas” or “nays” that preceded their turn.

In terms of members, approximately 60 seats were filled in the spring. That number has since dropped to about 50 seats. To refill those seats, interested students will soon be able to indicate their interest and submit applications via the IUSA website.

The Congress section of the IUSA website will soon feature short biographies and contact information for congressmen and women. Kohls said she wants students on campus to be able to directly contact their congressional representative or senator.

She noted that it will be a priority for this year’s congress to make resolutions, minutes and voting records completely available for public viewing via the IUSA website immediately after meetings.

One of the first orders of business for the new Congress will be to review summer activity. During the summer, Congress did not formally meet, but members were in communication via email.

A notable event, Kohls said, was the formation of the Emergency Financial Committee. This group of seven student congress members approved, 6-1, a $5,000 donation to the IU Hillel Center’s funding of the search for Lauren Spierer.

IUSA President Justin Kingsolver, senior, and other executives originated the idea to donate to the fund. Since Congress must approve IUSA spending, a special committee was formed to decide on the matter.

Otherwise, congressional activity during the summer was fairly minimal, Kohls said.
The first congressional meeting will take place at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Kelley School of Business room BU102.

As mentioned during campaign season, the venue for congress meetings is expected to change occasionally and showcase the variety of buildings on campus.

Structure
Structurally, the IUSA Congress remains the same.

Filled with 62 student members, Congress is equally divided between residential senators, who represent housing sites, and academic representatives, who speak for different schools and departments.

Members vote on a Speaker of Congress. He or she appoints a Parliamentarian responsible for making sure Congress follows Robert’s Rules of Order and Parliamentary Procedure. He or she also appoints a Grammarian, who takes and transfers minutes, voting records and resolutions online.

Kohls, of the executive branch, will work as vice president of Congress. As such, she will be the link between the two branches. She said she wants to ensure the Congress acts independently of the other branches, particularly the executive branch.

“In the past, the vice president of Congress has had a Speaker of the House role, but this year, we’re going to have the Speaker do much more of the work,” she said.