Latest entries in On Campus
News on MU student life, organizations, administration and more.
Nov. 5, 2009
Sustain Mizzou Stream Team plants trees
The recent Sustain Mizzou Stream Team Clean Up at Hinkson Creek focused on litter removal, but their event in the spring will include not only litter removal but a tree planting as well.
Two years ago stream team planted 450 native tree seedlings in the Hinkson Creek Area and last spring Stream Team planted 900.
An estimated 20-30% trees have survived from the planting last spring, which is a good amount, Sustain Mizzou member Emily Tewes said. Tewes will take over Stream Team next year.
Current Stream Team Project Leader Garrett McKee said the tree plantings educate students on proper tree planting methods, tree care and tree identification.
Due to the large number of trees surviving from last year, Stream Team may pick a different site for this upcoming spring.
RHA fixes grammar in constitution
Grammatical errors in the Residence Halls Association's constitution were corrected with the passage of FS2009 Act 002 Monday night.
Some of the errors were in changing nouns into their correct plural form, so that the purpose of the organization, as reflected in the constitution now reads, "RHA shall also facilitate communications between the residents (not resident) and the Department of Res Life."
Other errors were in replacing incongruous words with words that make sense, such as in the old phrase "the NCC will more into the position of President," to now read "the NCC will move into the position of President and the NCC-IT will move into the NCC position."
Act 002 also changed the constitution to reflect new positions, such as the Director of Technology.
"These are errors that have been in the document since the document was adopted," Rules and Policies Committee Chair Michael Crawford said. "This is why we have our Constitutional Committee or the new Policy and Rules Committee to review and update the document."
Nov. 2, 2009
FSU facilitates discussion regarding body image issues
Feminist Student Union discussed positive body image Monday at 5 p.m. in the Center for Social Justice.
Topics included stereotypes, the media’s portrayal of those who are overweight, personal stories and ways to obtain a positive body image.
Leading the discussion were Women’s Center staff members Lauren Olson and Rachel Post. Post and Olsen loosened up the fellow FSU members and encouraged them to talk about themselves.
The atmosphere was honest, with members sharing stories and experiences fluctuating between their highs and lows.
The discussion centered around the members wanting to be strong by loving their bodies but still battling psychological factors one member described as “terrifying”.
A subtopic of the discussion was how people’s body image affects life choices, such as job interviews and where to shop. Members talked about stores such as Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch where sizes ran smaller than other stores. The consensus was the sales tactic potentially feeds negative body image.
The opposite side of the spectrum was touched on momentarily as attendees spoke of exercising and dieting excessively.
FSU meets again Nov. 16. Members hope to continue exploring body image, focusing more on veganism and stereotypes.
RHA tidies their by-laws
In an effort to ensure that its meetings run more efficiently, Michael Crawford, Policies and Rules Sub-Committee chairman, introduced Residence Halls Association House Rules into the RHA Constitution.
The Residence Halls Association by-laws, a document enumerating the process by which RHA meetings will be held, will now include an additional chapter outlining the House Rules.
The House Rules will make official the amount of time given to representatives speaking in Congress.
There was debate over how Congress would change the RHA House Rules should future changes be necessary.
RHA Representative Peter Jones proposed a movement to change RHA rules to match the two-thirds majority vote in U.S. Congress in order to change the Constitution.
The movement failed, and both bills concerning the RHA House Rules passed in Congress.
RHA appoints freshman to external vice chairwoman position
Freshman Natasha Desai was named the External Vice Chairwoman for the Residence Halls Association for the 2009-2010 academic year.
“When I interviewed for MUTV, that was my stepping-stone into RHA,” Desai said.
There were many candidates interested in leadership positions within the RHA, and two exceptional candidates were interested in becoming the MUTV Liason, Speaker of Congress Blake Lawrence said.
Not wanting to turn anyone away, Lawrence said he offered Desai the position of external vice chair, a position that is new to RHA this year.
Lawrence said External Vice Chair Desai’s job will be to assist External Committee Chair Jural Vinegar in organizing the agenda, and to keep other members of the cabinet up-to-date.
“I love what external has done so far,” Desai said. “I’m really excited to get to know people, and with everything that’s going on in RHA. I’m excited to hang out and have a good time.”
Nov. 1, 2009
Section of Conley Avenue to close Wednesday
The section of Conley Avenue from the west side of Sixth Street to the west side of Maryland Avenue will close at 7 a.m., Wednesday, to continue construction of the new utility tunnel. It is scheduled to reopen Aug. 1, 2010.
Conley Avenue will remain open east of Maryland, but the closed campus policy will still be in effect from 8:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays. Traffic in and out of the north entrance to the Turner Avenue Parking Structure can access west bound Conley Avenue through a temporary drive.
Oct. 31, 2009
Religious groups celebrate Halloween
To celebrate Halloween, many religious student organizations threw costume parties and volunteered.
The Lutheran Student Fellowship and the Mizzou Baptist Student Union trick-or-treated for canned goods Saturday, according to their online calendars.
The Lutheran Student Fellowship collected canned goods for the Women’s Shelter of Columbia, according to their mailing list.
The Wesley Campus Ministry held their Halloween Bash on Friday at 7 p.m. Activities included carving pumpkins, playing games and watching movies, according to their Web site.
Chi Alpha threw a Halloween costume party from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Chi Alpha House, according to their Web site.
The Catholic Student Association organized a “Rake ‘n’ Treat” service activity Saturday. Students volunteered to rake leaves for parishioners from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to their Web site.
Oct. 28, 2009
Vacancy on student court
Student Court Chief Justice Jonathan Sandhu announced at the full Senate meeting of the Missouri Students Association on Wednesday that a spot has opened on the Student Court.
He said he will be sending out applications to interested individuals soon and will begin reviewing these applications shortly after.
Student Affairs Committee Chairman Paul Whiteside announces resignation
Paul Whiteside, Missouri Students Association student affairs committee chairman, announced his resignation at the Wednesday night Senate meeting.
Whiteside said he is resigning because of an overextended schedule.
Shelton said she plans to send out an application to find a replacement soon.
Student Life proposes fee increase
Student Life approached the Missouri Students Association with a request to increase student fees to fund a new Student Involvement Office.
The fee increase would entail a $0.33 increase per student which amounts to a $16,000 total sum.
The Student Involvement Office would be a desk on the second floor of the new center and would offer information about various student organizations on campus.
Of the money the fee would bring to MU, $15,000 would go to fund a Web site version of the desk and $1,000 would go to staffing the desk.
