Bursar continues to deny funding for INPIRG

In light of the bursar’s ongoing freeze on INPIRG (Indiana Public Interest Research Group) funding, one must wonder if the balance of power between IU’s administration and the student body has undergone a radical shift as of late.

Consider the bursar’s denial of student funds to INPIRG, our on-campus political advocacy group. INPIRG is student run and student funded; therefore, the bursar’s refusal to release INPIRG’s pledge money amounts to a breach of her professional obligation to process student funds and appropriately distribute them to campus organizations. 

While the administration says it is open to providing INPIRG with an alternative funding mechanism, INPIRG has experimented with this system in the past, and it turned out to be ineffective and unsustainable.

The “check-box” funding system simply does not work. INPIRG knows it.

The administration certainly knows it. And yet, the latter insists that this method is INPIRG’s best option.

I understand that the administration has its own set of concerns, its own set of commitments, and its own priorities.

But INPIRG has fought for renter’s rights, campus sustainability and stopping the flow of money in politics, all with strong student backing.

The administration should not only honor the students who work tirelessly on INPIRG campaigns, but also the thousands of IU students who have pledged their money to these important causes.

Students cannot stand by as a student group is trampled on by the administration.

This is not only a slap to the face of those who have worked for meaningful change with INPIRG, and it sets a troubling precedent for administration involvement in student affairs in the future.

— Allen Maggard,
Education coordinator,
INPIRG democracy campaign