Latest entries in On Campus
News on MU student life, organizations, administration and more.
Nov. 20, 2009
AP reports meetings between Forsee, Hulshof
In 2007, the UM system Board of Curators narrowed their search for a new university president down to three finalists, two of which were former congressman Kenny Hulshof and current UM system President Gary Forsee. When the curators’ top choice passed on the offer, Forsee claimed the position over Hulshof.
But Hulshof isn’t letting that keep him away from involvement with the university, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. According to the AP, Hulshof, the Republican candidate for governor in 2008, has met with Forsee at least three times in recent months at Forsee's office.
Both Hulshof and Forsee refused to discuss the meetings with the AP.
"I meet with lots of people on lots of different topics," Forsee told the AP.
Plant sciences professor Gary Stacey attended one of the meetings with Hulshof. According to the AP, Stacey said Hulshof was interested in creating a statewide "competitiveness council" to focus on economic development and possibly luring federal stimulus money to the Kansas City region.
Nov. 18, 2009
MSA Senate passes a bill changing the election process of at-large senators
The Missouri Students Association passed a bill on Wednesday changing the procedure for electing at-large senators.
The bill was written in response to the large influx of students who attempted to run at-large in early September. Bill co-author Sean Haynes said this presented an issue in implementing a fair voting process.
The bill requires those students running at-large to submit a resume to the Speaker or the Clerk of the Senate which voting senators may review prior to voting. Additionally, the bill states that only 10 senators may be elected at each Senate session, regardless of the number of available spots or the number of interested applicants.
Bill to create an Office of Inspector General position passes in MSA
The Missouri Students Association passed a bill on Wednesday creating an Office of Inspector General position.
The bill was heavily debated within the Senate and the final amended document clarified the duties of the OIG and rescinded the previously proposed financial compensation for the holder of this office. A new amendment stated that the Senate would work toward establishing some type of compensation for the position, possibly in the form of college credit.
The bill was originally drafted in an effort to take away certain responsibilities unfairly placed within the jurisdiction of the Operations Committee.
The responsibilities of the OIG would include conduction audits, detecting waste, promoting efficiency, reviewing pending legislation, and keeping the President and Senate fully informed.
The Senate plans to have the position filled before the end of the fall semester.
MSA Senate approves new Student Affairs chairwoman
The Missouri Students Association voted to approve Michelle Horan as the new Student Affairs Committee chairwoman today.
Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton said she selected Horan because of her ability to maintain structure effectively within the committee. Horan said out of the three organizations she is involved in, MSA is the most important to her because it is where she can make the biggest difference.
Horan said her plans include improving campus safety, making Student Affairs projects more timely, and getting the entire committee involved with a specific charity organization.
New Student Affairs Chairwoman approved by MSA Senate
The Missouri Students Association voted to approve Michelle Horan as the new Student Affairs Committee chairwoman.
Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton said she selected Horan because of her ability to maintain structure effectively within the committee. Horan said that out of the three organizations she is involved in, MSA is the most important to her because it is where she can make the biggest difference.
Horan said her plans include improving campus safety, making Student Affairs projects more timely, and getting the entire committee involved with a specific charity organization.
Minority organizations gather at Eat and Greet
Minority organization representatives gathered at a multicultural Eat and Greet potluck on Tuesday night.
Before digging into the meal, representatives from minority student organizations introduced their groups, the dish they brought to the potluck and the main events they run at MU. They also shared their meeting times and locations.
“There are a lot of minority organizations that do so much on this campus,” Multicultural Issues Committee chairwoman Alex Holley said. “We wanted to bring everything together. It’s a networking event so you can meet other organizations, get other contacts and see what they’re doing.”
MCI vice chairwoman Lakeisha Williams said these new contacts might lead organizations to plan future events together.
“We all share the common thread that we’re minority students, and we all have similar goals and purposes within our organizations,” Williams said.
About 60 students came to the event.
National Pan-hellenic Council treasurer Brennan Duvall said the Eat and Greet was worthwhile.
“I feel that anything working on interracial relations is very important,” Duvall said. “If I can come out and meet the people who are working for the same cause, and drop a few words of wisdom, it's working toward a greater good.”
Legion of Black Collegians vice president Lisa White said she realized a variety of minority organizations were interested in teaming up with other groups. The different student organizations can support each other in minority struggles, White said.
“Power is in numbers,” White said. “Any organization that may be going through the same thing can gather together to make a collaborative effort to change the problem at hand. That way it can be best for everyone on campus.”
MCI asked attending organizations to bring food to share, and many decided to bring cultural dishes, Holley said. For example, the Muslim Student Organization brought hummus and pita bread, the Missouri International Student Council brought baklava and the Jewish Student Organization brought matzah ball soup.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity for people to experience different dishes from different cultures,” Williams said.
JSO treasurer Belinda Kocen, of former Maneater staff, said she loved trying the different foods.
“Anything that was left on the table I grabbed to try,” Kocen said. “Food is always part of culture, so by understanding the foods people eat you get to understand some of their culture as well.”
Nov. 17, 2009
Proposed MSA bill would create a stipend for committee chairpeople
The Missouri Students Association Operations Committee discussed and passed a bill on Tuesday that would create a per-semester stipend of $650 for committee chairpeople.
If passed, the stipend would take effect in the fall semester of 2010 and effectively compensate not only committee chairpeople, but also the Senate Speaker and Senate Clerks.
The bill was written in order to recognize the work of committee chairpeople and their role in MSA. It also serves as an incentive to these individuals as a means to better MSA as a whole.
The full MSA Senate will vote on the bill on Wednesday.
Student Life no longer requesting student fee increase
The Department of Student Life rescinded their request for a $0.33 increase in student fees.
The Missouri Students Association committee chairman Matt Sheppard said Student Life maintains they believe the funds would be put to good use, but that they no longer believe student fees should be raised at this point in time.
The proposed fee increase funds would have gone to finance a new Web site for student involvement and a staff to help students become more involved.
IFC, PHA executive board announced
The Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council nominated their new executive board members.
PHA Programming Vice President Brittany Perrin said those elected to the PHA executive board include Caitlin Mundschenk as President, Michelle Parsons as Programming Vice President, Stephanie Zepelin as Risk Management Vice President, Kaitlyn Steis as Internal Recruitment Vice President, Allie Steiner as Education and Development Vice President, Michelle Hanko as Public Relations Vice President and Ashlen Snellen as Finance and Records Vice President.
IFC president Danny Jonas said those elected to the IFC executive board include Brandon Green as President, Ryan O'Connell as Recruitment Vice President, Kyle Tibbles as Risk Management Vice President, Jazz Rucker as Membership Development Vice President, Ben Loomstein as Finance and Records Vice President, Jeremy Johnson as Programming Vice President and Danny Ritz as Public Relations Vice President.
Hillel celebrates Rosh Chodesh with a museum visit
For Rosh Chodesh, Hillel women visited the “The Sacred Feminine: Prehistory to Postmodernity” exhibition at the Museum of Art and Archaeology on Tuesday.
Rosh Chodesh is a Jewish holiday for women. It falls on the first day of each new month in the Hebrew calendar.
The exhibition, which runs until Dec. 24, features women in religious art from different cultures around the world, according to the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology Web site.
Students visited the exhibition at 3 p.m. and went out for coffee afterwards, Jewish Student Organization Co-Religious Chair Rachel Levin said in an e-mail.
