Anne Tinder, INtouch for IUSA’s presidential candidate, said Nocita stepped down for personal reasons.
“INtouch has always been a ticket about our goals and policies more than individuals, and we were able to move forward without hesitation,” she said.
Prior to stepping in as the vice president of congress candidate, Watkins contributed to INtouch for IUSA’s outreach team, coordinating student organization visits and sharing the ticket’s platforms, Tinder said.
Though Watkins said the ticket’s platform — particularly its focus on IU Counseling and Psychological Services — attracted him to the ticket, in the end, the people were what led him to it.
“That’s really what it comes down to when you break down an administration — the people,” he said. “Do they have, one, the ?capacity to do the work and, two, are they willing to do the work? And I found both of those things there when meeting the INtouch team, and I’ve had no complaints.”
Prior to Watkins contributing to the INtouch for IUSA outreach team, Watkins participated in congress’ student relations committee, first as a committee member and recently as the committee chair.
“That’s when I got to become even more involved and meet with the other committee chairs and make further relationships,” ?he said.
If elected, Watkins said his experience as a member of congress will shape his time as the vice president.
“One, I know how operations work, and two, I know how to execute things,” he said. “I also meet every single person involved with congress.”
Tinder said she thinks Watkins’s experience will particularly shape his approach to collaboration.
“I think Jalen feels especially strongly about communication between the legislative and? executive branches as a result of his time in ?congress,” she said. “He knows that congress’ resolutions can’t be effective without follow-through from the executives. ”
If elected, Watkins said all congress committee chairs will regularly meet with executives.
“Collaboration to INtouch as a whole is crucial, just because when you have a conglomerate of different activities and organizations, it’s very crucial that they are interactive with each other,” he said. “And to have IUSA not interactive within itself is a huge conflict.
“IUSA is supposed to be the student organization,” he added. “And there’s no communication within IUSA. That doesn’t propel and that doesn’t send the right messages to other student organizations on ?campus.”
Watkins said he thinks his experience will also shape his approach to ?diversity.
As a member of congress, Watkins said he has access to information regarding the makeup of both congress and the student body, which allows him to compare to the two. The numbers reveal a lack of representation within IUSA, which, he said, equals a lack of ?effectiveness.
“Diversity, to me, is almost everything because it’s what allows us to move forward as a civilization, and it’s what allows us to attack problems differently,” ?he said.
Students can vote at booths or online from ?10 a.m. to 10 p.m. either day.
“Whether we win or not, I hope I get to participate in IUSA, just because it’s an awesome organization,” Watkins said.
