Positive changes for IUSA

The IU Student Association Congress voted Sunday night to amend the election code to include two reforms I recently suggested in a March 12 Indiana Daily Student column and another reform I strongly
support.

The Election Commission will now be housed under the judicial branch of IUSA as opposed to the executive branch, a change that should hopefully decrease conflicts of interest in information dissemination for IUSA campaigns.

Dates for elections will now be announced as much as 11 months in advance, removing a significant barrier to tickets from outside the current administration. Previously, election dates were announced during the spring semester, meaning opposition tickets had a few months to prepare while the incumbent ticket had as much as 12.

Campaign staffers can also no longer work at polling stations. In the past, these staff members have advocated for their particular tickets at the polling station, effectively turning a secret ballot into an open one. Instead, these will be staffed by election commission staff, and campaign members will have to stay at least 300 feet away.

I’m thrilled these reforms have been enacted. They’ve restored a bit of the confidence in my student government that I have lost over the last four years.
PLUS for IUSA has made it clear that they support these reforms as well and that they want to take a sincere look at how student government represents students.
A portion of their platform is an open committee application process, another reform I have suggested and an important part of a robust level of student participation in future administrative decisions.

Their feedback forum and mobile safety technology for campus are well-planned and executable strategies. Increased recycling and a longer drop/add period, while more ambitious, would be valuable additions to campus. As a Counseling and Psychological Services user myself, I know the significant effect increased access to such a valuable resource could have.

I’ve written quite a few columns lamenting administrations that were elected unopposed, and I oppose uncontested elections for student government purely on principle. When a ticket doesn’t have to compete against anyone else for power and knows it, there’s a much smaller incentive for it to get it right.

In any case, PLUS for IUSA seems to have done just that in spite of a lack of competition. Their platform is strong, their ticket is diverse and their energy is high. They have my vote and my support for the coming year.

dlreed@indiana.edu