Golden Ticket ends IUSA bid

The Golden Ticket dropped its bid for IU Student Association executive offices Thursday, said sophomore Chip Patterson, who was running for president. \nBut part of the ticket's platform will live on with the Supernova ticket, Patterson said.\nThe Golden Ticket had hoped to lead the IU Student Association with "A Student Quality of Life Platform." Now the executive candidates will throw their support behind Supernova.\nPatterson said he called sophomore Jeff Wuslich, Supernova candidate for vice president for administration, to discuss the platforms of both tickets. Patterson said he realized The Golden Ticket and Supernova had a lot of the same priorities.\n"Both tickets had a lot of strong platform ideas," Patterson said. "It's stupid for the sake of (IUSA) to pit ourselves against each other."\nHe offered to support Supernova and contribute his ideas to the ticket. Supernova presidential candidate Jake Oakman, a junior, said he was happy to accept the offer.\n"If we have people supporting the same things on two different tickets, we may have drawn votes away from each other," Oakman said. "Someone without the best interests of (IUSA) could have (been elected)."\nPatterson called the new ticket "Supernova with a bigger, stronger platform."\nOakman said his ticket would add several platform items The Golden Ticket had proposed.\nAmong the additions, Supernova will try to extend tutoring and help-center hours, educate incoming freshmen on rape prevention and alcohol management, develop a Minority Achievement Committee and look into student concerns about University fiscal responsibility, Oakman said.\nSupernova is running its campaign on four priorities: improving services to students, improving communication with the administration, instilling a feeling of University pride and continuing to increase technology on campus.\nWuslich said he admires Patterson for his devotion to The Golden Ticket's platform. Patterson was running for the platform, not the position, Wuslich said. \nOakman said speaking with one voice will strengthen the chances of getting the goals the ticket's shared accomplished.\nPatterson said he has already provided names of possible congressional candidates to Supernova. But no one who planned to run with The Golden Ticket will switch and run on the Supernova ticket, he said. Supernova has almost completed its slate of congressional candidates, Oakman said.\nOakman said that Supernova is open to new ideas and that the platform is not set in stone.\n"It's a living platform," Oakman said. "We're not going to ignore a good idea because it's not our own"