MISC unites groups

By Jewels Phraner

Published Nov. 9, 2007

Several international student organizations formally united with the Missouri International Student Council on Wednesday night.

In the MISC General Assembly meeting, the organization signed an official agreement with eight other organizations and offered representation and unification to the organizations.

"It's just pieces of papers, but it's a good start for us to formally state that we are together, that we are united for the international community," MISC President Thitinun Boonseng said.

The agreement served several purposes. According to the memorandum, it allows MISC to represent and unite the voices of international student organizations and promote international student organizations' relations and interaction with outside agencies.

"One of MISC's missions is to become the bridge between international students and students from the United States," Boonseng said.

The agreement also formalized a partnership with the Missouri Students Association.

"We're proud to be a charter member of the MISC General Assembly and looking forward to working with them on graduate assistant tuition fee waivers and the diversity course requirement," MSA Senate Speaker Jonathan Mays said.

The agreement outlines responsibilities of both MSA and MISC.

"MSA agrees to be represented as a partner organization of the Missouri International Student Council," the agreement states.

Furthermore, the agreement states that MSA is required to provide a representative at all MISC General Assembly meetings.

As per the agreement, MISC also agrees to promote international events on campus, improve the environment for international students and serve as "a community platform" through programming such as public forums.

"One of MSA's goals is to be inclusive, which is a common goal between them and MISC," Boonseng said. "If we can collaborate, we can do a lot more."

Boonseng said MSA and MISC have become particularly close this year.

"This agreement formalizes the process we've already participated in," Mays said. "It facilitates an atmosphere so future administrations will know what the expectations are."

MISC is now considered the umbrella organization for the African Student Association, AIESEC, the Association of Malaysian Students, the Bangladesh Student Association, the Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, the Japanese Student Association, the Taiwanese Students Association and the Thai Students Association.