Thirty-one IU students have applied for the student trustee position, which will become vacant when current student representative Sacha Willsey's term expires this summer. By the end of March a search committee comprised of all IU students will narrow the field of 31 applicants down to 10. \nStudents from three of IU's eight campuses (Bloomington, IUPUI and IU Northwest) submitted their applications last month. \nOnce the search committee selects the 10 finalists, the list will be sent to Gov. Frank O'Bannon who will interview the candidates and make the final decision. The governor appoints six of the nine trustees on the board; the other three are elected by IU alumni.\nJennifer Monberg, IUB graduate student, said she applied because she wants to give back to the University.\n"It's a great opportunity to participate in being a voice for students," Monberg said. \nAt the University of Notre Dame, Monberg was the head of a musical theater organization, the first of its kind at the school. She gained experience meeting with administration and lobbying for funding.\nThe student trustee, as one person on a nine-member board, is responsible for speaking up for the concerns of the over 93,000 IU students. The student trustee position would become even more powerful if a recent Indiana House of Representatives bill to include a seat for a non-voting faculty member passes. The historic legislation could lead to an alliance between students and faculty at IU.\nSophomore applicants Rahsaan Bartet and Jon Deck said the faculty position would be a positive addition to the board.\n"It is a great idea," Bartet said. "The faculty should get to vote."\nBartet said an issue he is interested in discussing with the board is a more comprehensive recruitment of minorities.\nBartet said minorities are a small percentage of the student body because they do not feel welcome at IU. \nDeck said the addition of a faculty trustee will help the educational system by building a solid partnership.\n"I hate to think that students and teachers are looked over," Deck said. \nDeck, a business major, said one of his goals if selected would be to investigate and improve some of the more confusing and expensive processes at IU: obtaining transcripts and going through late registration.\nWhen Deck saw an application on his roommate Scott Lesht's desk, he found he is not the only one in his house applying for the position. Lesht, a junior, is also seeking the position.\nLeadership is a common theme among applicants. As a freshman Deck participated in IUSA as a senator. He is now a member of the Crimson ticket in the current IUSA elections.\nAli Rizvi has also been involved in IUSA as the director of Academic Affairs last year. \nHe noted the importance of a two-way flow of communication between the board and students. \n"The student trustee should come back to student organizations to get feedback," he said. "He should be a reflection of the student body, not just of himself." \nRizvi applied for the position because he saw it as the best way to impact the University.\n"The person in that position will be able to do more for the University than any other student," he said.\nThe first student trustee to serve on the board joined in 1976. Willsey, whose term expires June 30, is the 14th student trustee to serve. \nAll candidates who apply must aver that they will have sufficient time to balance the responsibilities of serving on the board with their school work.\nIUPUI undergraduate Nathan Mott said his passion for leadership attracted him to the position.\n"IU is known for creating great leaders," Mott said. \nThe challenges of making education better are confronted every year as the Board of Trustees faces budget issues and tuition. \nMott said he wants to help find ways to fund education so that programs can be implemented that will give students more chances to succeed.
Candidates Include:
• Bloomington graduate students Allison Fetter-Harrott, Matthew Lesher, Jennifer Monberg, Jason Rodocker and Corey Zarse.\n• Bloomington undergraduates Rahsaan Bartet, Jonathan Deck, Catherine Diggins, Cynthia Engel, Kieran Farr, Noah Gambill, Michael Kraios, Kelsey Lenox, Scott Lesht, Daniel Lynch, Andrew Peeples, Stanton Regan, Ali Rizvi, Scott Shackelford, Saumil Visharia and Timothy Wininger. \n• IUPUI graduate students Calvin Chambers, Erin Haag, Todd Pederson, Chad Pulley, Eric Scott and David Townsend and undergraduates Nathan Mott, Michael Robert and Jason Wilhite. \n• IU Northwest undergraduate Elynn Pierzchalski.
