A new day for IUSA

The Editorial Board likes to keep actors both on and off our campus accountable, which is why we’ve hit hard on the responsiveness of our student government this
semester.

The administration of Jose Mitjavila, the IUSA President for 2013-14, has repeatedly disappointed students.

The outgoing administration has few significant accomplishments to show, despite their somewhat self-congratulatory tone at the conclusion of last year’s election.

We’ve seen Mitjavila push for what we’ve lovingly dubbed an Applebee’s (it’s not an actual Applebee’s) in the Indiana Memorial Union and lobby for Lifeline Law amendments similar to those from Hoosiers 4 Solutions, one of the tickets that opposed Mitjavila in the 2013 IUSA election.

The announcement that Plus for IUSA was running unopposed all but eliminated any hope we had for our student government. Plus went on to win the executive ticket, as well as every congressional seat for which they put up candidates.

The Editorial Board, however, has seen evidence to suggest that the incoming administration might actually bring the change we’ve been waiting for.

On March 30, IUSA voted to make elections more equitable and less biased. The resolution moves the Election Commission from the executive branch to the judicial branch, which houses the IUSA Supreme Court. The student body president appoints the supreme court justices as spots open up, and justices serve a term for the entirety of their time at IU.

The polling stations are also no longer going to be staffed by members of the individual campaigns, but rather by members of the Election Commission. In addition, members campaigning for tickets must stand 300 feet away from polling locations.

Students will start being alerted when voting is open via a campus-wide email, and the next year’s election dates will be set at the end of the prior administration.

The Editorial Board sincerely applauds and approves of these changes by IUSA, which passed these changes with only one member voting against them. It’s a huge step forward.

In the past, IUSA has been plagued by what could be considered nepotism and inside knowledge. For the past three years, IUSA administrations have consisted mainly of recycled, handpicked members of the previous administration. With their experience in the previous administration, these tickets have prior knowledge as to how to run an IUSA campaign and when election dates will be set.

And while we can’t fix the nepotism that results in handpicked administrations, the step towards giving all tickets equal notice to the election dates is a great one.

This year, Unify IU, the ticket that was originally slotted to run against Plus, dropped out of the race because they felt Plus had more time to prepare.

We have struggled over the past year with our trust in IUSA and then our trust of Plus.
 
However, Plus has been receptive and clearly supportive of these election reforms, for which this Board has been advocating for years. While the elections process is still not perfect and IUSA still needs improvements, this is a step in the right direction.
 
IUSA is moving towards becoming a legitimate student government once again, and we applaud this transition and those who support it.

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