IUSA Supreme Court to hear Steel appeal

An appeal to Wednesday's decision by the IU Student Association Election Commission concerning violations to the elections code by the Kirkwood ticket has been filed by the Steel ticket, delaying election results once again.\nSteel claims that the commission was "erroneous in its interpretation of the elections code of the IUSA." \nJoe Walterman, IUSA elections commissioner, supported the election commission's decision.\n"I think the commission made the right decision," he said. "I think the commission believes they made the right decision, but it's certainly within their right to appeal."\nSteel stated in its appellate brief that the commission's error, if not remedied by the court, will cause irreparable harm to the Steel ticket and the elections process by setting a precedent allowing future tickets to violate the code without consequences.\nBut Kirkwood said the appeal made by Steel is inadmissable because of a violation of the Supreme Court Web site timeline.\nSection 803 of the elections code states that all appeals must be filed in the IUSA office within 24 hours of the commission's ruling. Walterman reportedly told the tickets that appeals would be due by 1 a.m. Thursday morning, 24 hours after he e-mailed the tickets with the commission's ruling. But after hearing of Walterman's decision, the Supreme Court changed that deadline to 5 p.m. Thursday.\nIn a statement released Thursday, Kirkwood stated that the appeal "is nothing more than a pathetic gasp of a defeated party."\nJunior Brian Daviduke, the Synergy candidate for president of the student body, said he can understand why Steel decided to appeal the decision, although he feels the commission had reason for their results.\n"Steel feels that the verdict wasn't harsh enough because it says that if you leave enough money in your budget, you can do anything you want," he said.\nHe also said because Kirkwood decided not to appeal and to pay its $700 fine, it must believe it won.\n"$700 is a lot of money, and most people wouldn't pay it unless they thought they won," said Daviduke.\nThe Supreme Court, after wrestling with the issue Thursday evening at a Congress meeting, decided to postpone its decision on whether or not to hear the appeal until March 18, the Monday following spring break. \nUntil then, the Supreme Court is accepting student opinions regarding the decision. All students interested in voicing their opinions concerning the fate of the Kirkwood ticket are urged to e-mail court@indiana.edu. \nIf it is decided that the appeal will be heard, the Supreme Court will meet March 19 at a yet-undecided time and location. Depending on when the verdict is released, the results of the election will be disclosed either Tuesday evening or sometime Wednesday.