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(03/03/09 5:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students can choose today between a compass and Walker Texas Ranger. The Residence Halls Association elections will be held today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at every residence hall’s center desk or main lobby. For the first time in several years, more than one ticket is running – The Chuck Norris Ticket and Hoosier Compass.The election will also include center executives and center constitution changes, if there are any.Students can vote for an entire ticket or for individuals, said senior Eric Gibson, current president of RHA. In the end, there could be a mix-matched administration.Residents must show their student ID to receive two ballots, one for the RHA executives and one for the center executives. Students will put their ballot in the designated voting box.At the voting site there will be a list of residents in that particular residence hall, and when students vote they will sign or initial next to their name to ensure that each student only votes once, said senior Erica Wiley, RHA election commissioner.Students can only vote in the residence halls they live in, Gibson said.The presidential candidate for The Chuck Norris Ticket is junior Aaron Collins, and the presidential candidate for the Hoosier Compass ticket is senior Jessica Schul.The goals of both tickets vary, but both aim to better the IU campus by creating more programs, helping students make the transition to college life, and getting the word out about RHA.“The Chuck Norris Ticket hopes to expand and continue what we have established this year and work with other student organizations,” Gibson said. “Hoosier Compass hopes to do more RHA programming and create more diverse programs.”Students are encouraged to vote in the RHA elections.Gibson said if the administrators who are elected are not right for the job, the issues students care about will not be represented and their voices will not be heard.IU students pay a $12 student activity fee per semester, which goes directly to RHA.“Students pay a fee to RHA so students can choose who will do the best in serving the students and make good use of the fee,” Wiley said. “It gives students a voice in the dorm, especially with two tickets running, because it shows who they want to represent and what programs they want to see happen.”
(03/03/09 3:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association is making an effort to make IU a greener and more sustainable campus.IUSA is working with various campus organizations to get an optional $5 green initiative fee listed as one of the checkboxes available during online class registration. By urging IU students to sign a petition form in support of it, IUSA hopes to accomplish this goal. “The idea is a grassroots way to put into being the efforts of student groups across campus and gives us something to show sustainability wise,” said senior Abby Schwimmer, IUSA director of sustainability.The green initiative fund will go to any project on campus that could be seen as supporting sustainability or environmental efforts. Campus organizations may send in a request for a proposal to IUSA if an organization is working on an environmental project.Examples of green projects include purchasing recycling bins or motion sensor lighting, according to an IUSA press release.“The optional registration fee of $5 is not an energy fee,” Schwimmer said.Through IUSA, a group of students and faculty members will determine which sustainability initiatives the fees will go to each semester. IUSA will create this panel and discuss how the money will be best used to make IU a more sustainable place. They will decide where the money is urgently needed, said junior Nathan Bower-Bir, coordinator for IU Volunteers in Sustainability.“The beauty of this fund is that it is subject to student control and supports a great cause,” Schwimmer said.The process to get an optional fee on the checkbox list is to receive a quarter of the enrolled student body, approximately 10,000 students, to sign the petition.“It’s not a commitment that you pay the fee if you sign the petition,” Schwimmer said. “It is stating that you support making the option available.”To establish these funds, IUSA is working with Greeks Go Green, Volunteers in Sustainability, INPIRG and the Residence Hall Association.Every dorm has a director of environmentalism, and they are handling how the petitions are being signed and how to get the word out about the green initiative to their particular residence hall, said sophomore Aarthi Devanathan, director of environmentalism for RHA. “Students have an interest in making the campus greener, and signing the petition is a great place to start,” Schwimmer said.
(03/02/09 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association is bringing its voting and attendance system into the 21st century.Instead of taking attendance via voice affirmation, IUSA will be implementing a clicker system already used in large lecture classes at IU for Congress meetings.The IUSA Web site will eventually allow students to see how Congress members have voted.With the new clicker system, IUSA Speaker of the House Mike Powell, a senior, said there will be personal accountability because the Congress members’ voting records will be available to the public, just like in the U.S. Congress.IUSA Vice President Dan Sloat, also a senior, said students will be able to recognize the diversity in votes, which might help them figure out for whom they will vote in the IUSA elections.“One of the drawbacks to voice affirmation is that the voice of dissension is lost,” Sloat said. “To some outside students, it may appear that no serious voting is taking place because no one is blatantly opposing a bill.”Powell said the clicker system will improve the record keeping, transparency, efficiency and legitimacy of IUSA.“It will improve the transparency of IUSA because it is a useful tool to consolidate records and go to software,” Powell said. “Roll call vote takes 10 minutes, but with the clicker system it will only take 30 seconds to a minute, which will improve efficiency.”IUSA worked with University Information Technology Services to make the clicker system plausible.The system did not cost anything for IUSA. UITS is lending clickers, software and receivers for the duration of the academic year.A lending agreement Sloat signed Friday stated that UITS can borrow back the equipment on a case-by-case basis, but this will never conflict with Congress meetings.Sloat said this is the biggest change to internal Congress in a long time.Eventually, IUSA would like to give all students a voice by allowing them to vote using their cell phones, but Sloat said that change will not occur in the current administration.The idea for this system was borne during a meeting of the Association of Big Ten Students, when IUSA discovered that other Big Ten schools such as Illinois already employed the governing system.The clicker system will be implemented in the March 10 Congress meeting.
(02/27/09 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The REAL ticket is joining the IU Student Association elections race and is promising to bring realistic and tangible goals to the administration.With the Hoosier ticket dropping out of the race, the REAL ticket is the fourth ticket competing in the IUSA elections.REAL is an acronym for the ticket’s ideas of restructuring, education and living. All these goals are considered by the ticket to be attainable to implement into IU’s system.“We’ve seen students make promises that never materialize,” junior Joey Schlafly, candidate for treasurer, said. “We are not just putting out goals that won’t be able to be reached.”The idea of restructuring is to create a more unified IU campus where all student organizations can work as a cohesive unit.“There is a divide between campus organizations, and since these organizations are student-run, why can’t we integrate them and give them one voice?” junior Sam Miller, presidential candidate, said. “If you have more student organizations together and more students leaders together, more ideas can come out of it.”For education, the REAL ticket plans on eliminating the late fee for OneStart’s online scheduling’s drop/add feature because the executives see it as an “extent of tuition,” Miller said.The ideas for the living platform are to make the campus more resourceful, safer, cleaner and more student-friendly. The candidates hope to accomplish this by not wasting food, extending transportation, increasing campus lighting and cleaning up the campus with the help of student volunteers.Members of the REAL ticket pride themselves on having a tight-knit connection with all of the executives.“Other tickets have pulled together their core executives from various places to give the ticket a diverse look,” Miller said. “Instead of working 24 hours a week together, we can work together 24 hours a day to accomplish our goals.”Junior Nick Pavilonis, vice presidential candidate, said the REAL ticket executives will not have to waste time to get to know one another because they have already developed close relationships.Members of the REAL ticket said their diversity will come from the officers, directors and members of Congress.“Diversity will come through the people who are under us,” Miller said. For more information on the REAL ticket, visit www.getrealiu.com.
(02/26/09 5:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The two competing Residence Halls Association tickets, Hoosier Compass and The Chuck Norris ticket, met Wednesday to promote their platform issues and answer student questions.The two tickets hope to better the IU campus by creating more programs, helping students make the transition to college life and getting the word out about RHA. “We want to create a better name and better understanding of RHA,” said sophomore Michael Coleman, Hoosier Compass vice presidential candidate of internal affairs. “We want to heighten the name.” The RHA elections will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 3 in each residential hall. RHA directly affects the students who live in the residence halls and the environment of the dorms. “Students have a voice in the student government and in their home,” said senior Jessica Schul, Hoosier Compass presidential candidate.Junior Aaron Collins, The Chuck Norris presidential candidate and current executive vice president for RHA, believes students should vote in the elections because the RHA administration receives feedback and learns what students want to see in the residence halls.The Chuck Norris ticket said they have a lot of experience with RHA because Collins and junior Sean Apfelbaum, current vice president of programming, have both held executive positions in the current RHA administration. “Our overall goal is to continue to make strides and progress,” Collins said. “With the experience we have gained, we can see the organization forward and share our knowledge. We will continue to focus on the campus 110 percent.”However, the Hoosier Compass ticket said they want to provide students with opportunities on campus such as dorm programming to make them more comfortable at IU.“We want to help students find a way home and find a destination,” said sophomore Katie Lambert, Hoosier Compass vice presidential candidate of Programming.
(02/25/09 5:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Residence Hall Association is having a “meet and greet” with the two competitors seeking to lead RHA: Hoosier Compass ticket and The Chuck Norris ticket.The event will provide a forum where students can get to know for whom they can vote in Tuesday’s RHA elections. The meeting will also give students a chance to review each of the ticket’s agendas, said senior Erica Wiley, RHA election commissioner.The meeting will be from 6 to 7 p.m. today in the main lobby of the Residential Programs and Services building located at 801 N. Jordan Ave. RHA is the governing body of the residential halls and is composed of the 11 different governments from each of the dorms. The association creates programs within the residence centers and works with various other organizations on campus. The meeting gives the candidates an opportunity to state their platform for about five to 10 minutes, after both tickets will participate in a question-and-answer session.Each ticket is composed of four candidates: president, vice president of internal affairs, vice president of student affairs and vice president of programming.Students directly contribute to RHA with a student activity fee of $12 a semester, and by going to this event, students can take an active role in seeing how their money will be put to use, Wiley said.“RHA is for the students and run by students,” Wiley said.In the past few years, only one ticket ran in the RHA elections.“This year’s election is the first competitive election in three or four years, which is a pretty big deal,” said senior Eric Gibson, president of RHA.
(02/23/09 5:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Btown ticket will officially announce its candidacy later today, and its members say they are working to distinguish themselves by developing a student-focused platform.Members of the Btown ticket said they hope to connect with the student body, have an active role on the IU campus and work on issues that affect students’ daily lives.“We want to attract all types of students, even those that are not typically involved in student government,” said sophomore Peter SerVaas, presidential candidate.Straight No Chaser will perform at the Btown ticket call-out meeting at 8 p.m. today in room 015 of the School of Fine Arts building.Playing an active role in the student body means attending events for various organizations, said junior Shobha Pai, candidate for vice president of Congress.People who believe IUSA goes hand in hand with their daily lives will be more interested in student government, said junior Trevor Shirley, chief of public relations.Members are working on the ticket’s platform and have met with IU administrators to ensure all of the issues they are addressing are feasible.Ticket executives looked into 30 initiatives and found five plausible ones after meeting with administrators, SerVaas said.The Btown ticket is not campaign-focused but more concerned about its platform, members said.“We started the election not with a campaign, but with a platform, and that has given us our strength,” Pai said.The Btown ticket has a point person on each of the initiatives, so these platform issues will make headway during the campaign, SerVaas said.The executives of the Btown ticket have also participated in various leadership roles on campus, including SerVaas’ role as director of student services for the current IUSA administration.“The biggest thing you learn about leadership is how to work with people and what is or isn’t effective,” Pai said. “It’s such a transferable skill. I think we have proven that we can effectively lead because of all the work we have done for our platform.”Ticket officials said they are confident they can take strides to create a better campus.“Our biggest hope is that we bring the most accomplished leaders into the administration to create a positive change,” SerVaas said.The ticket wants students to be aware of their platform and everything they hope to accomplish.“All of us understand how to strike a balance in getting people to believe in what you are doing and parting them in knowledge to succeed without alienating them,” Shirley said.The Btown ticket plans to expand on what the current IUSA administration has done, Pai said.Btown leaders said they hope the student body will focus on what their administration can do to improve their college experience.“This election should be based on platforms, not people,” said sophomore Dan Dunten, Btown ticket volunteer. “We want to make good ideas a reality.”
(02/18/09 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosier ticket announced Tuesday it is dropping out of the race for IU Student Association elections and endorsed the ONE University ticket, which announced its candidacy Monday.But there’s a catch.Though the Hoosier ticket gave its endorsement, most of its executive candidates, including presidential candidate Abby Kaericher, resigned from the campaign about one week ago and are endorsing other tickets – not ONE University.The lone member of Hoosier’s executive ticket to endorse ONE University, former vice presidential candidate Jeff Fraser, is now chief of staff for the ONE University ticket.The remaining 40 to 50 Congress and staff members also decided to support ONE University, Fraser said.“We knew we were behind in the race by looking at the diversity and strength of the other tickets,” Fraser said.Executive members have called ONE University a diverse ticket that represents the student body in its entirety.“None of the four executives have been executives in the IUSA executive board,” said junior Saad Saghir, vice presidential candidate. “No other ticket can make such a legitimate change in government. Many members are involved with working with executives, but they don’t have a steadfast routine. They have a new, fresh outlook.”The executives leading the ticket are composed of greek members, a business fraternity member and a graduate student.“Other tickets just provide lip service, but we embody diversity,” said presidential candidate Ben Blair, a second year law student. “We have a graduate student at the top of our ticket.”In the past, graduate students have been underrepresented in IUSA, Blair said.“Graduate students represent 24 percent of the student body,” Blair said. “We are truly talking with the entirety of the student body’s voice, not just three-fourths of it.”With a graduate student at the head of the ticket, the members of the ONE University ticket say this will strengthen its administration.“Blair has experienced undergraduate life, and since he is a graduate student now, you know he is going in the right direction,” said junior Samantha Israel, candidate for vice president for Congress. “He knows the kind of work it entails to represent 41,000 students.”There are about 4,000 international students, a strong population with few representatives in IUSA, Blair said. When Saghir began attending IU, he was considered an international student.The ticket’s platform issues are technology and facilities, student rights, community service, sustainability and transparency and accountability. ONE University’s Web site is www.vote1u.com.“From day one we will appoint somebody whose job is solely to update the Web site,” Blair said about the platform’s plans to increase transparency and accountability. “It took 10 months to update the current IUSA administration’s Web site. Students need to know what the executives and members of Congress are doing.”
(02/12/09 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Working to revamp the IU Student Association’s Elections Code on Tuesday, Congress decided against a proposed amendment to limit campaign spending but approved plans to add designated polling stations on election day. The move to add polling stations follows weeks of discussion and a proposal that originally aimed to safeguard elections against voter fraud. While the original proposal sought to largely eliminate online personal voting, IUSA representatives decided to retain it. Representatives said during the meeting that eliminating online voting could damage voter turnout. In addition, a spirited debate surrounded IUSA President Luke Fields’ proposed amendment to limit campaign spending. “We want to preserve the spirit of the elections,” Fields said during the meeting. “The old elections code was filled with misery and deceit.”Representatives criticized the proposal during the meeting, eventually choosing not to approve the amendment. The proposed IU Student Association Elections Code was passed by IUSA’s Congress, but not without some disagreements.Fields proposed amendments to the then-pending Elections Code. Fields tried passing a spending limit on campaign expenditures of $2,500. However, Congress remained loyal to the Elections Code’s current policy. The Elections Code states that there is no expenditure limit to how much a ticket may spend on their campaign. However, any organization or individual who is not on the ballot may contribute no more than $250, while any person who is on the ballot may not exceed $1,000 in their contributions. “The spending cap was suggested to even the playing field so that anyone can participate no matter what one’s financial standing is,” senior Dan Sloat, IUSA vice president, said.The executive and legislative branches are supposed to have checks and balances on one another, Fields and Sloat said. “The idea was well-founded and was in the best interest of the students, but I respect Congress’s decision to disagree with me,” Fields said. Some IU students said they wish there had been a spending limit put on election campaigning.“To make campaigning fairer, there should be a spending cap put in place, because then it’s more about who has money than those who have the best ideas,” said sophomore Ruchi Fruitwala.The originally proposed Elections Code also said students would no longer vote online through their personal computers, but would have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers.Fields and Congress amended this proposal by making it so students can vote from any computer, and the amendment was passed by Congress. Funding for the new polling stations will come from the IUSA budget, but there was no indication Tuesday evening how much that could cost. The polling stations will be at the Indiana Memorial Union Literature Desk, Wright Residence Center, Foster Residence Center, the lobby of the Kelley School of Business, the corner in front of Ballantine Hall, the Student Recreational Sports Center and near the Arboretum at 10th Street and Fee Lane. Though these polling sites are available, students may also vote on their own computers.There can be no campaigning within 50 feet of the polling sites and computer labs. This proposal was implemented so the voter turnout can remain high while still ensuring a fair election process. “IU has one of the highest election turnouts in the Big Ten,” Sloat said. “We want to find a balance between high voter turnout and ensure what we hope to be the most fair and equitable elections.”Some students also agree that the polling stations will be beneficial to the election process.“I would personally not use polling stations because it is convenient to use a computer,” said freshman Mel Russ. “Polling places are still beneficial because computers are not always easy to get to.”
(02/11/09 10:14pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students will now be able to vote online and in person for the IU Student Association elections. This was just one of the many changes approved by the IUSA Congress Tuesday night.IUSA president Luke Fields failed to pass campaign spending limits of $2,500 on the elections. Currently, the elections code states that there is no expenditure limit to how much a ticket may spend on their campaign; however, any organization or individual who is not on the ballot may contribute no more than $250 while any person who is on the ballot may not exceed $1,000 in their contributions. The originally proposed elections code stated that students would no longer vote online through their personal computers, but would have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers. Fields amended this proposal by making it so that students can vote from any computer including personal computers, and the amendment was passed by Congress. However, there will be designated Elections Polling Stations where students can vote as well. There will be no campaigning allowed within 50 feet of the polling sites.
(02/10/09 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Memorial Union is taking steps to transform some single-sex bathrooms into gender-neutral bathrooms. The Union Board and the IU Student Association passed a plan last week to create gender-neutral bathrooms on the first, second and eighth floor of the student activities tower.On the first floor of the IMU, the bathroom that is turning into a gender-neutral bathroom has two stalls, but a lock will be installed so that only one person can use it. By May 18 the main entrance to the bathroom will be open, and the two stalls will be fully enclosed from floor to ceiling so that two people can use them at the same time.The second- and eighth-floor bathrooms are already single units, so they will now have a sign stating that they are gender-neutral bathrooms.The restrooms that were chosen to be converted were the most equipped to become gender neutral bathrooms, said senior RJ Campbell, director for Diversity for IU Student Association.The gender-neutral bathrooms are being implemented “as quickly as possible,” said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU.“Gender-neutral bathrooms provide for the entire campus community no matter what one’s sexual preference is,” Jacobs said. “It is the best way to go to become more welcoming to the entire community. The Union’s basic purpose is to be a place that serves the entire community.”The first floor only had a women’s restroom, so men would have to go to the Mezzanine or third floor to use a bathroom. The restroom modification means anyone can use the one by Starbucks, Campbell said.This undertaking was a collaborative effort of IUSA and Union Board.“It benefits IUSA and Union Board when we work together,” said junior Andrew Dahlen, Union Board President. “It was completely student-driven. Students passed the proposal and students took ownership of the building.”IUSA President Luke Fields said this plan underscores the efforts both organizations are making to increase campus diversity. “This initiative shows forward thinking on the part of both organizations,” Fields said. “We are bringing about a positive change on campus.”More gender-neutral bathrooms will soon be added to the IU campus, Campbell said.IUSA is trying to get in contact with other academic buildings, such as Ballantine Hall, to make gender-neutral bathrooms accessible there, too.
(02/09/09 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association elections are starting to heat up with the Red-Hot ticket announcing its candidacy.The Red-Hot ticket will have a call-out meeting at 7:30 p.m. today in the Indiana Memorial Union Oak Room so students can learn more about the ticket, IUSA, the election process and ways to get involved with the ticket. The meeting will also provide students with a forum to voice their concerns and learn some of Red-Hot’s platform ideas, said junior Andrew Hahn, presidential candidate.“Even though the election is seven weeks away, we are trying to reach out to all parts of campus, hearing students’ concerns and what they would like to see done at IU,” Hahn said.Red-Hot’s overarching platform ideals are to connect, develop and sustain the University, Hahn said. Hahn said one of the ways to connect the University is to improve the public transportation system. Hahn said state money is available for public transportation systems, but IU is not receiving the money because the school has not applied for it. Hahn said he hopes a Red-Hot administration can help make this possible.Another idea is to have a “virtual union” where student groups can post events and interact with one another.In addition, the ticket plans to address space issues for the Student Recreational Sports Center and wants to make sure the facility is adequate for IU students.Although Hahn said IU is working to create a more sustainable campus, he said members of the Red-Hot ticket hope to strengthen and build on this foundation.Members of the Red-Hot ticket said they hope to employ a consistent color-coding system throughout campus to make the recycling system clearer and more effective.They said they also want to create a recycling initiative for the greek system because there isn’t one currently in place, said junior Mary Kelley, vice presidential candidate.But with a campus as diverse as Bloomington, Red-Hot candidates said it’s impossible to know all the issues facing students. “We recognize that we don’t know all of the students’ concerns,” said junior Bryan Stuart, candidate for vice president for congress. “All of our personal e-mail addresses are on the Web site, which is pretty unique to have available as of right now. I want to hear from students, even if I need to spend two hours answering e-mails.”The ticket’s Web site, RedHotIU.com, lists the ticket’s platforms as well as candidate biographies. Hahn said leadership experience in many different parts of IU’s campus sets the Red-Hot ticket apart.“We have depth, breadth, and we come with an open mind,” Stuart said. “The unifying theme is that we are willing to take on any challenge from students. Everything we promise students we intend to go through on.”Members of the Red-Hot ticket said the current administration has done many positive things for IU, and they hope to strengthen and continue that legacy.“I hope that we will be privileged enough to inherit the organization that (current IUSA President) Luke Fields has put in place, build upon that organization and make IUSA an even stronger force next year,” Hahn said.
(02/04/09 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association begins its election season today.At 8 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Georgian Room, there will be an informational call-out meeting for all candidates who intend to participate in this year’s elections.The purpose of the informal meeting is to learn about the timeline and to ask questions, said Luke Fields, IUSA president.The informational meeting is also a time to prepare for the competition.Any student is eligible to run in the elections as long as he or she is in good academic standing.“No experience is required,” Fields said. “However, it is helpful to have experience with other student groups.”Even though the elections code will not be finalized until a Feb. 10 congress meeting, the code as it stands now will be explained at the informational meeting.A good majority of the code will not change. One of the proposed changes is the way the votes will be collected, said Dan Sloat, IUSA vice president. The informational meeting is just the start to a very long election process.“Be ready for a full two months,” Fields said. “Surround yourself with a ticket and staff of people who are committed to the student body.”Members of a ticket should know how to utilize their time and focus on the campaign as well as have cohesion with each other and the student body, Fields and Sloat agreed.Students planning on participating in this year’s election are recommended to go to both informational sessions to ensure their credibility.
(02/02/09 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Potential resident assistants anxiously awaited the interview process this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.The new batch of potential RAs underwent an interview process with a professional and graduate student staff member.RAs go through a lengthy process to get the position. Students apply online and provide a resume and recommendation letters. Staff members then check each student’s application, bursar and judicial standings and GPA.Professional staff members then go through the applications and decide which students are eligible for interviews and then for the staff class that all potential RAs must take.The students’ performances on the application and in the interview and class help staff members decide which potential RAs to put into “hirable” and “non-hirable” pools, said Ramona Bolden Fether, assistant director for Selection, Retention and Staff Development.There are about 180 RAs, and about 80 return the next academic year while the rest are selected through the interview process, said Bob Weith, director of Residential Operations Administration.Selecting RA positions is a competitive process; students must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative and semester GPA.The average GPA for RAs is a 3.1 to 3.2, a good GPA for a group of students that works so hard, said Cedric Harris, Teter Center residence manager.Not only does being an RA have tangible benefits, but the job has intrinsic advantages as well, officials say.An RA is in a leadership role and becomes a better public speaker, Fether said.
(01/28/09 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association is working with the Indiana Senate to pass a bill that would make Indiana the 19th state to enact a “tax-free holiday weekend,” giving all Indiana residents a cheaper way to make purchases for back-to-school necessities. The Tax-Free Weekend and Back-to-School Purchases Proposal, Senate Bill No. 394, was introduced to the Senate in early January and is now in the tax and fiscal policy committee.Senior Jill DeLuna, one of the directors of IUSA’s Legislative and Governmental Relations, and junior Andrew Hahn, vice president for Congress, met with Senator Vi Simpson, who represents Bloomington in the General Assembly and authored the bill in the Senate.The bill will provide a “sales tax holiday” at the beginning each school semester and will take the sales tax off school items such as supplies, textbooks, computers and clothing for three full days.“This bill is not just for Indiana students, but is also a stimulus package for Indiana families,” said senior Mark Reid, assistant director of Legislative and Governmental Relations for IUSA.The legislation is not on the tax and fiscal policy committee’s agenda until after Feb. 4, Hahn said.The idea began as the tax-free textbook initiative, but that only pertained to a small portion of Indiana residents. The current legislation reaches a broader audience, which gives it more of a likelihood of passing, Hahn said.The Legislative and Governmental Relations committee is trying to rally various Indiana schools to lobby for the legislation.Lobby packets were sent to 39 Indiana schools’ student governments asking them to support the bill, DeLuna said.In contacting other Indiana school governments, the hope is that other schools will support the bill and be willing to contact their state senator as well as other state representatives, Hahn said.The bill has gained support from St. Joseph’s College of Indiana, the Indiana Retail Council and Purdue.“We are starting to build a coalition,” Hahn said. “We are optimistic and realistic because a lot has to happen. We are fighting through the bureaucracy of the Senate.” Passing any piece of legislation through government is difficult, especially bills that deal with the economy, DeLuna said.Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have implemented a tax-free holiday, Hahn said. States such as Tennessee and Virginia are the model upon which the legislation is based.“They are very popular, and there is a large turnout of people, a lot of news coverage, and it helps the consumers,” Hahn said. “It also benefits businesses because it attracts people to come to their stores.”
(01/27/09 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Student Association elections are months away, but candidates from one ticket – Hoosier – have already begun campaigning, even though they haven’t officially filed their candidacy.Already the party has announced its platform and launched a new Web site in hopes of rallying support and increasing awareness of student government.On Monday, party representatives handed out free coffee and flyers, and today they will do the same from their stands near the Kelley School of Business and Ballantine Hall. “We are starting early to spread the word and get out the vote, of course,” said junior Abby Kaericher, Hoosier presidential candidate. “The earlier we start, the more people we can get involved, the more diversity on our campaign. The more people we can talk to, the more people can spread our ideals.” IUSA Vice President Dan Sloat said the Candidate Call-Out Meeting, where parties officially declare their candidacy, has not been announced. “We think it is important that this year’s election will be clean and competitive,” said Jacob Turner, vice presidential candidate of Congress. “We have already talked to people on the other tickets, and it is going to be a hard but clean fight.”The Hoosier ticket plans to keep the lines of communication open with the students through its newly launched Web site, VoteHoosier.com. The site will be one way the public can monitor campaign spending. The Hoosier ticket believes its Web site is a defining element of its campaign. The candidates say it distinguishes them from the current IUSA administration, led by IUSA President Luke Fields.“I think the current administration has done a good job, but there is definitely room for improvement,” said junior campaign manager Ben Schulte.Candidates from Hoosier ticket said they want students to know what IUSA does and to feel more involved, Turner said.“About a week or so ago, the IUSA Web site was blank,” Turner said. “It was hard to figure out what IUSA is, how to get involved and what they are doing.”With a pending elections code change, which aims to eliminate personal online voting, the Hoosier ticket said this year’s election could be significantly different and believes those changes could have an impact on the voter turnout.If the proposed elections code is approved, students will no longer vote online through their personal computers but will have to vote at designated polling stations.The polling stations would be located throughout campus and in most of the residence halls, but members of the Hoosier ticket said that move could dissuade potential voters. “It will definitely lower voter turnout. It will always be easier to vote online,” Turner said. “It is easier to control violations of the elections code, (but) it will disenfranchise voters because they will have to go to polling stations.”Previous Hoosier administrations spent $15,000 to bolster online voting security, Turner said, adding that those efforts should not be thrown out. The Hoosier ticket thinks the elections code holds students to unrealistic expectations.“It is hard enough to get people to vote for presidential elections,” said junior Jeff Fraser, candidate for vice president of administration. “To go between classes and even stand in line for this will be very unlikely.”And although Fields said it seems premature to begin campaigning, he is excited by the upcoming election. “I’m glad to see students are energized about the election,” Fields said. “My concern is that candidates have all the information they need so they can run informed.”
(01/23/09 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Different ways to hold elections and take tests are among the issues IU Student Association President Luke Fields and Vice President Dan Sloat explored at the Association of Big 10 Students conference last weekend, hosted at the University of Illinois. “It was a great opportunity to collaborate with all Big 10 schools,” Fields said.The conference was a brainstorming system in which student leaders discussed similar issues each school faced and how they should deal with these issues, Fields and Sloat said.Student leaders shared various project ideas their schools are currently tackling, and other schools may implement these ideas at their own schools, Sloat said. Fields and Sloat shared IU’s long history of student affairs and student legal services with the fellow student representatives at the conference.They also had the opportunity to listen and learn about other schools’ undertakings. The University of Illinois uses “clickers” – similar to those used in large lecture classes to take attendance – for voting. IUSA needs to find room in their budget to implement such a voting system, Sloat said. “It adds to the legitimacy of the votes, and it will prevent getting grief from other congress members,” he said.IUSA received another project idea from the University of Iowa during the conference. Iowa has a program with Kaplan to host the LSAT and GRE testing on campus. This system works to both the students’ and Kaplan’s advantage, they said. “Students save money because Kaplan saves money by utilizing free university classrooms,” Sloat said.
(01/22/09 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Around 11 p.m. Jan. 15, the pajama-clad residents of Eigenmann Residence Center had to evacuate the building in negative-degree temperatures.The fire alarm went off after a sprinkler head was completely removed from the 11th-floor men’s restroom, causing areas of the building to flood. The sprinkler cap was found in the garbage can, which lead police to investigate the incident as an act of vandalism, said Kelly Thacker, Eigenmann residence manager.“I was trying to figure out how it could have gotten into the trash can,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Nate Darr. “I was upset and livid when I found out it wasn’t an accident. I just don’t want to think that someone on our floor did it.”If the situation was a case of vandalism, the guilty party would have to go through the campus judicial system, Thacker said.The student could also potentially go through the criminal justice system, since tampering with a fire system is a federal offense, Thacker said.Students are required to leave a building once a fire alarm goes off. If students don’t leave the premise it is considered a federal offense, and it is against the Student Code of Conduct.Students who remained in the building five to 10 minutes after the fire alarm rang had their student IDs taken away.The men’s side of the 11th floor suffered from two to three inches of flooding. The water leaked through to the 10th-, ninth- and eighth-floor elevator lobbies.Eleventh-floor residents had the option of staying in the first-floor east wing rooms or in the fifth- and seventh-floor lounges. Students were provided with pillows, bed linens and blankets.On Jan. 16, students were officially allowed to return to their rooms around 2 p.m. Prior to this time, students had to be escorted to their rooms by staff if they needed to get clothing, medicine or books for their classes.From 3 a.m. to 9 a.m., the Eigenmann staff took shifts watching the 11th floor while the rooms were left open to be dried and cleaned. They also bagged students’ clothing to reduce damage.“The staff worked well together to take care of the residents’ needs,” Thacker said. “The staff was receptive to whatever we needed to do.”Although the staff worked cohesively, the resident assistants did not know exactly what was going on.“I wish they would have said that the floor was flooded,” said sophomore Iann Matlock, resident assistant of the 11th floor. “In the end the situation was handled well, but I just wish I knew what happened because it’s my floor and my room is close to the bathroom.” The resident assistants did various jobs, such as keeping the residents informed, making sure everyone was safe on the stairwells, mopping wet areas, roping off and putting signs on closed-off elevators and putting displaced residents into rooms.Students, including freshman Justin Loughran, experienced some damage to their material items. Loughran had $600 worth of textbooks damaged by the flooding.Matlock said he lost a speaker and a receiver of his surround-sound system, which was worth an estimated $450.Some residents were more fortunate than others.“I’m happy that all my stuff is OK,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Dennis Webb. “I’d be pretty mad if all my stuff was damaged.” Residential Programs and Services does not cover damages from such events. Thacker encourages all students to get renter’s insurance through the Department of Risk Management, because their damaged possessions would be covered up to a certain amount.Students who know any extra information about the Eigenmann flooding are encouraged to speak to Thacker and Assistant Residence Manager Jon Riveire.
(01/16/09 4:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ashton residents said they feel misinformed and ignored by the administration in regard to the construction near Ashton Center. Students voiced their complaints Wednesday night to Residential Programs and Services concerning the construction near their building.The new living areas will serve 831 students. The project will take 12 to 15 months to complete, and the construction will start at the north end and go south. These building plans, however good for IU, will cause inconveniences for students, specifically the residents of Ashton, said sophomore Lorne Russell, president of Ashton. “It is 50 percent good and 50 percent bad,” Russell said.The major concern for the residents of Ashton is a lack of parking spaces and the amount of noise due to construction. Once the construction is under way, there will be an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work schedule on weekdays. Most construction work will cease on the weekends.In two or three weeks a fence will go up, taking up most of the parking lot, which will eliminate many D-spots in the Ashton lot.The project is estimated at $79 million.Some of the buildings will offer classrooms, an outdoor seating area, a convenience store, a computer lab, a cardiovascular fitness center and closed and open lounges.The additions are being made because older students feel they do not have enough options when it comes to living on campus, said Patrick Connor, executive director of RPS. “We are building for the future,” Connor said. At the meeting, students voiced major concerns and assisted in making resolutions. As for the noise, they proposed reducing the construction during exam periods. Students who feel extremely inconvenienced by this project may also have the opportunity to move into open spaces in other residence halls. Students in Ashton who have D5 parking spaces will either be reimbursed or will be allowed to have universal parking in other D spaces.“We hear the students’ concerns and are trying to address them,” Connor said. Some students feel as if this project is doing more harm than good.“We are being shortchanged. They want us to follow regular protocol,” said junior Tia Moore, an Ashton resident. “We are the ones who are paying for everything. They should take us into consideration.”But some Ashton residents do not understand the benefit of these additions and do not see how this undertaking will help them.“To me the plan is not realistic,” said junior Lakecia Walton, an Ashton resident. “I’m glad I won’t be here to see it.”
(01/15/09 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following last year’s IU Student Association election controversy, leaders are proposing a new elections code that could replace online voting with polling stations to be set up around campus, in an effort to provide more accurate election results. In last year’s election, the winning Kirkwood ticket was disqualified for violating six election codes. In the lead-up to that disqualification, there were disagreements between various factions as to who had the right to disqualify candidates.As it stands, IUSA’s Congress has the ability to overturn the IUSA Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify candidates, said Torrey Kittle, IU senior and IUSA chief policy advisor. It gives Congress ultimate power, he said, even though the IUSA constitution states the final decision is given to the Supreme Court in order to resolve the situation.“Last year, the Supreme Court disqualified the Kirkwood ticket, and some people were upset because the elections code says that Congress needs to confirm the decision of the Supreme Court,” Kittle said. In the proposed elections code, students will no longer vote online through their personal computers, but will have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers, Kittle said. The polling stations would be located throughout campus and in most of the residence halls.“With the polling stations, we are hoping to increase awareness of the organization and those seeking offices,” Kittle said. “It will hopefully result in a more accurate reflection of what students want and provide them a greater stake in the election.”Unmonitored online voting created chaos, and students were holding spaces in the business school and Student Recreational Sports Center to solicit votes, Kittle said.Some students had no idea what they were voting for and were voting just to cease the harassment they were receiving. Last year’s election resembled more of a popularity contest than an election, Kittle said.The polling stations will be run by non-partisan workers who have no stake in the election, Kittle said. Another provision to the election code is that no campaigning can take place within 50 feet of the polling stations.Dan Sloat, student body vice president, said the only cost that will be added to the IUSA with this proposal is the pay for the workers. If a student will not be on campus for the election, then they can participate in provisional voting, Kittle said. Two weeks prior to the election, students may send an e-mail to University Information Technology Services and will get to vote online from their own computer.If a student registers for provisional voting but also votes at one of the designated polling stations, then the electronic ballot at the polling place will be deemed invalid, Kittle said. “I think that the situation that occurred last year was difficult for everyone, because there are no guidelines for a situation like that if it arises,” said Elizabeth Retana, IUSA elections coordinator. “The new elections code will make it easier to monitor the election process. It would make my job run more smoothly as well, if they were to pass this.”IUSA officials said they want the proposed code to make students more informed of the elections.“In years past, with unmonitored voting, students were mislead as to the nature of their votes,” Sloat said. “When voters are mislead, it warps the spirit of elections, and the participating voice of the people is skewed.”