After seeing the number of passionate students in last year’s election, sophomores Naomi Kellogg and Nate Meyers said they knew they needed to run for office as soon as possible.
When it came time for this year’s election, Kellogg and Meyers decided to start their campaign, RISE for IU Student Association.
Juniors Chesley Swann and Kyle Messer joined Kellogg and Meyers for a campaign with the slogan “Friends first, Leaders second.”
Kellogg is the ticket’s presidential candidate with Meyers as the vice president of congress, Swann as vice president of administration and Messer as treasurer.
POLICIES
RISE is an acronym that stands for their policies of reach, inclusion, safety and experience.
REACH
RISE wants to create a culture that takes what previous administrations have done and builds on it the following year.
Though they also have their own initiatives, RISE plans to look at initiatives already in place and see how they can continue implementing them, Kellogg said.
“We want to take that work, build on it and then bring our new ideas to the table,” Kellogg said.
Another aspect of reach is helping other student organizations become more successful.
Helping every organization use the resources the University offers is important to helping them achieve their goals for the year, Swann said.
INCLUSION
Kellogg said RISE has set a large focus on making their ticket as inclusive as possible, reaching out to people who might not have otherwise been involved in student government.
However, inclusion extends beyond just their ticket, Kellogg said.
RISE is working towards creating a more inclusive campus as well.
“We may come from different backgrounds, but we all have this common goal in mind, to really be successful here at IU,” Swann said.
Working on policy for the international community, freshman Joseph Cullather focuses on going directly to international students and asking about their needs.
Cullather has reached out to culture centers and had round table discussions with them about issues they face.
“Building the policy platform from the ground up, directly from what the students want, is all about inclusion,” Cullather said.
SAFETY
To create a safe environment on campus, RISE is focusing on two key initiatives: increased sexual assault prevention and increased lighting on campus.
Junior Dylan Lanoff is in charge of sexual assault policy. Her goal is to target this problem from the core and teach students about sexual assault as soon as they enter the University.
Ways to change the current sexual assault culture are increasing consent education, bystander intervention training and sexual health training.
“We’re really trying to change that culture before it really begins,” Lanoff said.
To improve lighting on campus, RISE’s plan includes doing a quality audit of lighting on campus. Kellogg said the amount of lighting changes depending on the location.
“Not all lighting is created equal,” Kellogg said.
EXPERIENCE
Creating a memorable college experience for all students is another focus of RISE’s campaign. The ticket wants to focus on connecting with the Bloomington community, not just those on the University campus.
A policy Meyers said he is excited about is starting a local business fair on campus. With a wealth of local business in Bloomington, having a fair could be mutually beneficial for both students and businesses, he said.
“There’s often a disconnect between the small businesses and the student body,” Meyers said.
Another plan to improve the college experience is having tabling days for student organizations with philanthropic ties. This allows these organizations to be more connected to the students and the community, Kellogg said.
For example, an organization such as the Crimson Cupboard, which educates students on food insecurity, could set up a table outside of a c-store. Students could then use their meal points to donate food or supplies to the cupboard.
“It allows students to see that we really are there for them and we are advocating for them every single day,” Kellogg said.
Another way to improve the experience on campus is through increasing sustainability on campus.
Junior Steven Aranyi has made this policy his focus.
“There’s clearly ridiculous untapped potential on this campus and off campus,” Aranyi said.
RISE is focusing on little behavioral changes on campus, such as increasing recycling or adding energy stickers on every light switch.
“On a campus of over 40,000, it’s those little changes that really have a big impact on our environment,” Meyers said.
NEXT STEPS
As it continues to build its policy and team, RISE will continue to bring in new people and hear their perspectives on campus issues.
“We’re really focused on reaching those student leaders that have so much passion and so much care for what’s going on,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg said a lot of ideas IUSA tries to implement are already being done on a smaller scale within other organizations on campus.
It’s important to tap into that potential to get things done on a larger scale, Kellogg said.
Making promises they can keep is a priority for every member of RISE. All policies they make must be feasible, Kellogg said.
Kellogg said the campaign or winning doesn’t matter if nothing gets done in office.
“It is all worthless if you don’t get things done,” Kellogg said.
