Rocking the IUSA vote: Here is what you will vote for should you choose to vote for the Movement for IUSA ticket

Campus-Wide Safe Ride Program

Different than the current Safety Escort program provided by the University, the candidates’ proposed system will include longer hours of operation offered seven days a week and an expanded pick-up and drop-off area that will encompass the entire city of Bloomington.

The program won’t refuse students who have been drinking. This program will hopefully decrease the number of students who may consider walking or driving home intoxicated, said Pat Courtney, Movement’s candidate for vice president of administration.

“This will be a safe emergency transport system,” Courtney said.

Students can use the ride only to go from where they currently are to their final destination of the night, Courtney said.

The members of the ticket have spoken with local cab companies to potentially establish some kind of partnership for the coming school year, though nothing has been confirmed yet.

The original Safety Escort program was founded in 1981 as Women’s Wheels. It opened to men and changed its name to Safety Escort in 1994, and in 2006, program management switched from IUSA to the Motor Pool. It currently operates 8 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 to 11:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday.  
 
Hoosier Info Kiosks

Placed by popular bus stops on campus, these kiosks will resemble the digital signage that was recently placed in the Herman B Wells Library lobby and will offer information on bus times, weather and other campus news. They will also have the ability to alert students of campus emergencies, covering the entire screen with an alert message.

Similar information kiosks are used on other Big Ten campuses, and they have proven successful there, Courtney said.

“We’ve contacted other campuses to see if they have suggestions, so we don’t do it solely alone,” Courtney said.

Movement for IUSA has a team of four students researching the best locations to place the first of these kiosks on campus. Courtney said they have considered the Herman B Wells Library, the Sample Gates and the Third Street and Jordan Avenue stops.   
 
Rec Sports E-Reserve System

Normally, if students go to the Student Recreation Sports Center during a busy time and find all the equipment is in use, they are out of luck.

Movement for IUSA members said they hope to remedy that problem with a new e-reserve system. The candidates plan to start a website on which students can view and reserve 30-minute time blocks for treadmills or elliptical machines at the SRSC or the Ora L. Wildermuth Center.

“This will reduce inefficiency for students by giving them the option to use this online service,” Courtney said.

He said ticket members have already spoken to some students about the potential program and have received positive feedback. The candidates plan to work with University Information Technology Services to develop this software, and depending on the popularity of the program, it might become part of the IU Mobile app in the future.  
 
Light Up IU

Many students have expressed the need for a brighter campus at night, Courtney said. This initiative will put more lights in the darker areas of campus to increase student safety. Movement for IUSA has looked at solar- and wind-powered options to implement both a safe and sustainable system around campus.

“It’s a stepping stone,” Courtney said. “We can’t get the whole campus well-lit
at first.”
 
This platform is not an exhaustive list of everything members of Movement for IUSA plan to do in the following year, if elected, Courtney said.    

The candidates also plan to continue working with Hoosier Youth Advocacy, which is the lobbying group that helped pass the Lifeline Law in March, to find more relevant issues that IUSA and people on campus can support, Vice President of Congress candidate Stephanie Kohls said.

A Voter’s Guide to IUSA Election Day 2012

What is IUSA?

IU Student Association serves as the voice of the student body for the Bloomington campus. It is comprised of an executive, legislative (Congress) and judicial branch.

IUSA Congress is made up of representatives from on-campus and off-campus residences and the various academic departments and will also be voted on in this election. In the past, IUSA has worked to develop initiatives such as the campus bus-tracking application and, most recently, the Lifeline bill that was signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels in March.

If there’s only one ticket, why are there elections?

The Election Commission decided prior to the announcement of allowing write-in candidates that an election would happen no matter what.

“It’s good to make yourself aware, if nothing else,” Chair of Elections Commission Evan Farrell said. “It allows you to be more aware and hold them accountable. They’ll be the voice of the student body all next year.”

Students can also vote for congressional members on this ballot. Farrell said voting in this election still allows students to become involved and increase campus energy around IUSA as a whole.
 
WHERE should I vote?

Three polling stations will be set up around campus by Movement for IUSA. They will be at the red clock by Woodburn Hall, outside Ballantine Hall and at 10th Street and Fee Lane near the Arboretum.

WHEN 10 a.m. today until 10 p.m. Wednesday

HOW Vote at one of the polling stations or online from anywhere at https://chenet.iu.edu/iusaelection/Default.aspx. Students can enter their IU usernames and passphrases on the site and vote for both the executive ticket and congressional members.