IUSA Congress passes new bylaws, elects officers

The IU Student Association’s Congress convened Wednesday night to update its bylaws, elect officers and hear the 2013-14 budget proposal from IUSA’s executive branch.

Several bylaws concerning the electoral process were voted on during the meeting.

All students running on a ticket during the IUSA election are now required to participate in the debates, votes cannot be solicited in bars or library lobbies and students cannot campaign within 100 feet of a computer lab, due to the fact that voting occurs online.

The replacement process for a student who drops out of the race due to an emergency has also changed. These changes come as a direct result of last year’s election, when SPARC’s vice president for Congress candidate Thomas Dauer removed his name from the ticket.

Prior to this formal amendment, Vice President of Congress Scott Borer said there was no clear process for the replacement of a member who withdrew from a ticket during an election campaign.

In the event this situation occurs in the future, a ticket will be given one week to replace the withdrawn member, only on the condition that the student withdrew from the race because of an emergency.  

Each of the amended bylaws was voted through unanimously by the 42 members present.

Congress members also voted to add two weeks of consideration to the budget proposal. Borer said last year, Congress voted on the budget immediately after the proposal.

Vice President of Congress Scott Borer said although last year’s budget was fair, it did not give members sufficient time to review the proposal.

“This is a more fair process than what took place last year because it allows the Congress time to review the budget rather than demanding a vote on the spot,” he said.

The budget proposal was presented to members by Treasurer Casey Baker, who answered questions posed by Congress members in attendance.

The IORC will have two weeks to review the proposal and ask further questions before voting to finalize the budget at the next congressional meeting.

Borer said he has high hopes for the new process and amended bylaw, and he said he hopes the changes will improve Congress as a whole.

“I think it’s going to be really different from what Congress has been in the past,” he said. “I think it will be more efficient.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, Congress members voted for the semester’s four Congressional officers.

During the meeting, students were able to nominate themselves for positions and were given the opportunity to give brief speeches before Congress to solicit votes.

A new bylaw stating the press secretary must consult with one other member of IUSA before making an official statement on behalf of the organization was also passed.

Follow IUSA reporter Holly Hays on Twitter @hv_hays.