IUSA congress suffers from low attendance

At its Tuesday night meeting, the IU Student Association Congress failed to meet quorum as attendance fell to the lowest of the semester: 27 of 48
current members.

This trend has persisted during the course of the semester, as attendance numbers have averaged about 55 percent of the 62 total seats. Tuesday, that fell to about 44 percent.
 
“This is unacceptable,” IUSA President Justin Kingsolver said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t know what we’re doing wrong. I don’t know what else we have to do to get people to come. I’m disappointed by this.”

The IUSA Congress, as per its constitution, is made up of 62 seats filled by student academic representatives and residential senators, but there have been more than 10 vacancies throughout much of the semester.

Congress is structured so student members represent virtually all sectors of the IU student community, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the
Kelley School of Business, from Forest Quad to off-campus housing.

And while these seats and structure exist to increase inclusivity, the actual numbers of congressional attendance during the course of the semester point to a less-than complete Congress.

At its first assembly April 25, the newly elected Congress began with approximately 60 out of 62 seats filled and 45 Congress members in attendance. That original Congress was a blend of students who had supported Big Six, the winning IUSA executive ticket, during the March election, as well as other students from rival tickets reviveIU and BtownUnited.

During the summer, Congress gained and lost members, said Stephanie Kohls, IUSA vice president of Congress, with occupied seats falling to about 50.

Thirty-nine of the then-51 Congress members attended the first general assembly of the school year Sept. 5. The trend continued into October, when just 32 of 53 members attended the first meeting of the month.

The Oct. 17 general assembly showed a rise in attendance to 33, but total membership fell to 47. That number fell further to 40 of 62 seats filled and 33 members in attendance at the Nov. 1 general assembly.

These fluctuating numbers are the product of student members’ hectic schedules, conflicting club/organization obligations and, in some cases, a lack of commitment to the IUSA Congress, Kohls said.

“I was disappointed by attendance at first, but overall, it was to be expected,” she said. “Every year there are vacant seats that need to be filled. If anything, it’s motivation to have a Congress that’s full as possible. The more voices that are represented, the more students are involved in the process.”

Kohls referred to the perennial difficulties of filling certain seats in Congress. Traditionally, she said, the School of Library and Information Science, Continuing Studies and Graduate School constituencies are most difficult to fill.

The University Division seats also pose a problem, she said. These students that first occupy seats in the spring may choose a major and switch out of the division, thus disqualifying them from holding that seat, leaving Congress another member short.
Now, there are 52 members of Congress, and seven of the 10 vacant seats are from those harder-to-fill areas.

Kohls enforced a strict, three-absence attendance policy this semester, which also decreased total membership.

“I want people that want to be there,” she said. “I think being strict on the attendance policy isn’t too much to ask. We’re weeding out the people we can tell that aren’t committed.”

Congress members are divided and serve on one of five committees. Daniel Cheesman, sophomore, is the chair of the Congressional Affairs Committee.

He said his committee has suffered from the attendance difficulties. Though he started with about 12 members, that number is down to around five or six who regularly attend committee meetings. He said he’s sure their reason for dropping Congress is legitimate but he would have appreciated being informed first.

“Attendance has been kind of lackluster,” he said. “We’re kind of hurting right now for people who are interested in student government and politics. I myself didn’t go to the last meeting because of another club commitment, and I feel as though a lot of people have that same problem. It’s kind of hard to balance your time.”

IUSA Graduate Adviser Julia Stanton, who started in the position this semester, supports the attendance policy.

“It’s something that is a good measure to really just encourage students to take responsibility for the seat that they hold, and if they can’t attend, to find someone to do their job and represent the constituency on their behalf,” Stanton said. 

She also wasn’t necessarily surprised by the attendance trend in Congress.

“The IUSA Congress reflects a general trend of student behavior on campus,” she said. “Students nowadays tend to be more involved in a wide range of activities, and they also tend to be more invested in their academics. Sometimes it’s hard for them to make every single meeting for every single organization they’re a part of.”

While he acknowledges the difficulties of finding time, Cheesman said the time commitment to IUSA isn’t horrible.Similarly, Stanton doesn’t consider other commitments an excuse for low participation, she said.

“I would call students who are involved in IUSA to maintain a high quality of attendance and make IUSA a priority,” she said.

Kohls, who after seeing low attendance numbers in November pushed to fill more seats, understands the importance of a full Congress, she said.

“It’s pretty powerful to have a Congress that represents everyone on campus saying, ‘This is what we want,’” she said. “Student voices are always really powerful in terms of changing things on campus.”

Attendance has since risen to 36 of 45 members present at the Nov. 13
general assembly.

“I don’t want to call it a blessing in disguise, but it’s kind of a positive thing, kind of a weed-out,” Cheesman said of the lower attendance numbers. “But the people that are diligent were rewarded by keeping their seat and getting that experience.”

Stanton said she sees some room for improvement next semester, while acknowledging the success of the last few months.

“I think it would be a great thing to have a higher number of senators present at each meeting. I think it’s a goal the IUSA congress can work toward next semester,” Stanton said. “Even with the attendance, they have had enough members that they’ve been able to come up with good resolutions and had good discussions.
“That’s something that IUSA can be proud of — that students are trying to make a better campus. It speaks to the quality of students we have at IU.”