Indiana University Student Association

The Indiana University Student Association (IUSA) is the undergraduate student body government at Indiana University Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana. IUSA consists of the following three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. In addition to these three main branches, IUSA is also responsible for the Assisted Inter-Organization Development Funding Board, also known as IUSA AID Funding Board. The IUSA Funding Board allocates funds for student programming and initiatives.

"At its core, IUSA is a congregation of Indiana University students that work to protect student rights, enrich student life, and improve Indiana University. Students join together to voice common concerns, hopes, grievances, and most importantly, to take action to realize an even stronger University."[1]

Historically, this student group's leaders and the campus generally was very active in the late 1960s and 1970s against the Vietnam War and for progressive causes, according to the IU Alumni Magazine.

IUSA has led the fight for campus daycare, more liberal rules for students, and against tuition increases. In 1996, IUSA passed a resolution chastising former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler, who represented Bloomington at the time, for wanting to abolish the popular Federal Direct Student Loan Program. The bill's author, Andrew Straw, is a Republican candidate himself for Congress in Illinois' 8th congressional district for the March 15, 2016 primary.

History

Indiana University has a long history of student government. In 1912, the first the university's first Student Council was appointed. In 1944, after a period of disinterest, the "Student Council" was recreated. In 1948, the Student Council was renamed the "Student Senate," and, then, in 1967 it was renamed the "Student Government." Between 1974-75, the Student Government was given the name it holds today, the "Indiana University Student Association." [2]

The Executive Branch

The IUSA executive branch will have all powers necessary and proper to fulfill their duties and the mandates of the IUSA Congress.[3]

Current Executives

2015-2016 Executives

After review by the IUSA Supreme Court, the Amplify for IUSA ticket was disqualified for discrepancies and violations of the Election Code. The decision was very heavily split, but INtouch for IUSA was chosen to take over although it did not receive the majority of votes.

The Legislative Branch

The IUSA Legislative Branch consists of the IUSA Congress. The Congress has sixty-two seats, with half of the seats reserved for Academic Representatives drawn from each degree granting unit of IU and the other half reserved for Residential Senators drawn from each of the residence halls, off-campus students, the Greek community, and Family Student Housing.[4]

The current 2014-2015 Executive positions of the Spring-term IUSA congress are [5]

[6]

The Judicial Branch

The Student Body Supreme Court is the judicial branch of IUSA and is composed of one chief justice and ten associate justices. Pursuant to Article IV, Section II of the IUSA Constitution "the judicial authority of IUSA will include the power of judicial review, adjudicating elections disputes, certifying elections results, and fulfilling the requirements of the University judicial process."[7]

Under the judicial branch, the IUSA Election Commission officiates the IUSA elections each spring. Its contemporary formation began in 2014 and consists of nine commissioners and a head chair.[8][9] According to the Election Code, the Commission's responsibilities include organizing and publicizing all IUSA elections, arbitrating ticket disputes, monitoring campaign finance, and enforcing the election code.[10]

=2012-2013 Justices=[11]

=2015-2016 Commissioners=[12]

Funding Board

The IUSA Funding Board provides support to student groups by helping them obtain necessary funding in order to enhance their respective organizations. Funding Board offers monetary assistance by helping to fund specific initiatives and events through the Student Organization Fund.[13]

References

External links

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