A callout meeting for students interested in running for executive offices in IU Student Government will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, IUSG Press Secretary Kaitlin Scott said. The IUSG president and vice president are elected every spring, while the IUSG congress is elected every fall, according to the IU student government website.
The meeting Thursday will include the rules for campaigning, such as violations that could lead to disqualification from the election. The callout meeting will be a virtual conference over Zoom, and the link for the meeting can be found on the IUSG website.
Scott said undergraduate students interested in running for either IUSG president or vice president will be required to collect 150 signatures from students, including graduate students, before March 11, when applications are due. Applications for the election can be turned in on the IUSG website or at the link above.
The election will take place on April 1 and 2. Before the election, the candidates will have to participate in a town hall at 7 p.m. on March 23 and a debate at 7 p.m. on March 30. Scott said both of these events will be held virtually over Zoom.
The IUSG president and vice president act as liaisons between the student congress and the IU administration, Scott said. When the student congress passes bills, the president and vice president lobby the administration in order to enact the legislation. Scott said one of the most common ways this occurs is when the student congress passes a proclamation in response to university policy, which the IUSG executives then bring to the administration to enact changes IU students want to see.
She said although only the IUSG president and vice president are elected, they can appoint other positions such as policy directors which are often filled by their campaign staff. Policy directors don’t have set jobs in the IUSG bylaws, Scott said, and their roles are determined by the president and vice president. Often this involves delegating certain responsibilities in a given field, mirroring how the president’s cabinet functions in the federal government.
