Barker to focus on education

By Erica Zucco

Published Oct. 9, 2007

On Friday, senior Dustin Barker and junior Jessica Ekhoff announced their candidacy for the Missouri Students Association presidential election.

Presidential candidate Barker and vice presidential candidate Ekhoff said their main goals were to enhance communication between MSA and the rest of the campus, create a greater sense of safety with greater residence hall regulations and more streetlights throughout Columbia, and to hold monthly forums for MU students to voice their concerns about MSA and campus issues.

If elected, Barker and Ekhoff said they will focus mainly on communication, campus unity and safety.

"We want to increase communication across MSA as a whole and get the word out to campus, involving all media outlets," Barker said.

The slate plans to work with the School of Journalism to produce news releases with information on MSA plans and events, as well as commendations for students with special artistic, academic and athletic achievements.

Ekhoff and Barker said they would also hold monthly forums open to all students in which they would discuss events that occurred in the past month and that would occur in the month to come. They would then open the floor to students for questions, concerns and suggestions.

"It can be intimidating to bring your ideas to MSA," Barker said. "We think that this would be a good way to get student input. We would also work with the Columbia city manager to have more streetlights put in around campus, especially throughout Greektown and on University Avenue."

Barker, a student ambassador for the College of Business, has also served as vice president of the Alumni Association Student Board and is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Barker's history in MSA includes service on the Student Affairs Committee and participation on two of the chancellor's standing committees: the Campus Recreation Committee and the Hearnes Center Committee. Last April, he was tapped into QEBH, a secret society on campus. Although Barker is a senior, he will enroll in an extra semester of courses if elected.

Organization Resource Group Vice Chairwoman Ekhoff has served as a Judicial Peer Advisory Council justice and a 2007 Summer Welcome leader.

She is a member of the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity and has also participated on the Student Organization Allocation Committee.

Ekhoff and Barker said they feel their involvement in a variety of activities will help them to better serve the student body.

"The MSA president and vice president should be heavily involved with MSA," Barker said. "However, they are representing 26,000 undergrads. We feel that our experiences give us an accurate gauge of the needs of MU students."