A little more than three weeks have passed since the IU Student Association elections. After 11 complaints, two appeals and one Supreme Court appeal hearing, a winner has finally been chosen: REAL for IUSA. Now, REAL is looking forward to the upcoming year in office.
“I’m really excited to have a blank slate and be able to do the things we campaigned on,” REAL President Sara Zaheer said.
One of Zaheer’s is to continue the work current IUSA President Anne Tinder did.
“What I think Anne did tremendously was building IUSA and making sure it’s open and inclusive,” Zaheer said.
This summer the new administration will focus on planning for the upcoming year. This includes policymaking, working on any legislation they want to bring to the state level and using experiences from this past year to prepare for next year. A big plan for the end of this year and for the summer is to start work on campus-community initiatives. They’ll be talking to members of the community as well as students on how to make those plans happen.
“We have a lot of ideas for how students can interact with Bloomington citizens,” Zaheer said.
REAL also plans to work toward improving disability services and accessibility on campus, increase off-campus recycling, revamping IU Safety Escort, and increasing collaboration and communication among governing organizations on campus.
One of Zaheer’s biggest takeaways from being chief of staff this past year was learning how to deal with tough issues on campus, she said. This past year, Zaheer said IUSA was able to put out some really strong statements regarding issues across campus, including race and diversity issues.
“We have to expect a lot of that stuff is going to happen again,” Zaheer said. “We have to know how to respond to that and know how to stay calm.”
Although it was a long process to declare an official winner, Chief Justice Owen Hoepfner said at the end he was happy they had a hearing.
“I’m happy all three parties had the chance to argue their case,” Hoepfner said. “There were weak parts in every argument, but at the end, we were happy with all the information and evidence we got.”
Zaheer said the length is just part of the process, and it has to happen. Everyone knows the process doesn’t end on election night.
“The past three weeks, nothing was in our hands,” Zaheer said. “We did as much as we could. I was very proud of the campaign we ran.”
Looking ahead, Zaheer encouraged students to apply to be part of IUSA next year. REAL wants to fill spots with people who are perfect for them, she said. They are looking for people to work on different parts of the executive branch, including policy, marketing, diversity, sustainability, outreach and special projects. Even if they don’t want to be a part of IUSA, Zaheer said it’s important for students to remember IUSA is there to serve them.
“You should use IUSA as a resource if you need anything on campus,” Zaheer said.
