MSA fills vacant chairperson seats

The nominees for the vacant positions will be voted Wednesday.

By Kaylen Ralph

Published Oct. 27, 2009

After a three-week review and selection process, all vacant legislative committee chairperson positions in the Missouri Students Association have been filled.

Missouri Students Association Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton selected Abhi Sivasailam, who served as the interim chairman of the Campus Dining Issues Ad Hoc Committee, as the permanent chairman for the committee and Ian Krause, previously the vice chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, as the new chairman in place of senior Erica Zucco.

Shelton announced her nomination of Evan Wood, vice chairman of the Operations Committee, to take over for retiring chairman Josh Travis last week. The Senate will vote on the nominations of Wood, Sivasailam and Krause at this week's full Senate meeting Wednesday.

Sivasailam not only has experience leading the ad hoc committee, but he co-authored the bill creating the committee as well. He said the only change in his responsibilities facilitating this committee will be attending MSA Cabinet meetings Tuesday nights.

"Abhi worked on the initial legislation to start the Campus Dining Issues Committee, so he was a logical applicant," Shelton said in an e-mail. "After reviewing his application materials and conducting an interview with him, I felt confident that he not only had the initiative to start the project, but also the long-term vision and work ethic to see his ideas through."

Last week was the committee's first meeting and Sivasailam said it was mostly a brainstorming session.

"We've just divvied up the investigative work for right now and we'll get the concrete plans later," Sivasailam said.

Short-term goals for the committee include looking into expanding vegetarian and vegan options, working with Muslim Students Organization and various Jewish student groups regarding Halal and Kosher options, listing the nutrition information next to meals in the student dining halls and being able to check meal plan points online and transfer meal plan points among peers.

Sivasailam said long-term plans are focused around addressing the issue of carryover in general. One idea he has discussed with his committee is a one-card system. This idea essentially merges the student ID with a debit card system, which could be used to purchase meals for dollar value at campus dining locations as well as participating downtown vendors.

"One-card system would introduce competition within CDS locations which would be good because CDS would have to compete for business that is offered downtown," Sivasailam said. "They would be required to comply with supply and demand in the dining market. If we eliminate the monopoly we can increase options and lower prices."

Krause served as vice chairman of the Academic Affairs for several years, which Zucco said makes his nomination a logical choice.

"He's been involved with MSA and Academic Affairs for a very long time," Zucco said. "He's the kind of person that you can go to with any questions about bylaws or how Senate works. I think he has a lot of institutional knowledge about MSA that he can bring to the table."

Both Zucco and Shelton said Krause is capable in interactions with faculty and administration.

"Ian is excellent at working and problem-solving with faculty and administration, which is absolutely vital in an Academic Affairs Chair," Shelton said in an e-mail.

Shelton pointed out the need for retention of senators in the Academic Affairs committee, as membership has been decreasing in recent semesters.

Zucco agreed the committee has always been one of the smaller ones, but she was not worried about Krause's ability to retain members. Shelton said she and Krause have already discussed ideas pertaining to membership issues.

After a three-week review and selection process, all vacant legislative committee chairperson positions in the Missouri Students Association have been filled.

Missouri Students Association Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton selected Abhi Sivasailam, who served as the interim chairman of the Campus Dining Issues Ad Hoc Committee, as the permanent chairman for the committee and Ian Krause, previously the vice chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, as the new chairman in place of senior Erica Zucco.

Shelton announced her nomination of Evan Wood, vice chairman of the Operations Committee, to take over for retiring chairman Josh Travis last week. The Senate will vote on the nominations of Wood, Sivasailam and Krause at this week's full Senate meeting Wednesday.

Sivasailam not only has experience leading the ad hoc committee, but he co-authored the bill creating the committee as well. He said the only change in his responsibilities facilitating this committee will be attending MSA Cabinet meetings Tuesday nights.

"Abhi worked on the initial legislation to start the Campus Dining Issues Committee, so he was a logical applicant," Shelton said in an e-mail. "After reviewing his application materials and conducting an interview with him, I felt confident that he not only had the initiative to start the project, but also the long-term vision and work ethic to see his ideas through."

Last week was the committee's first meeting and Sivasailam said it was mostly a brainstorming session.

"We've just divvied up the investigative work for right now and we'll get the concrete plans later," Sivasailam said.

Short-term goals for the committee include looking into expanding vegetarian and vegan options, working with Muslim Students Organization and various Jewish student groups regarding Halal and Kosher options, listing the nutrition information next to meals in the student dining halls and being able to check meal plan points online and transfer meal plan points among peers.

Sivasailam said long-term plans are focused around addressing the issue of carryover in general. One idea he has discussed with his committee is a one-card system. This idea essentially merges the student ID with a debit card system, which could be used to purchase meals for dollar value at campus dining locations as well as participating downtown vendors.

"One-card system would introduce competition within CDS locations which would be good because CDS would have to compete for business that is offered downtown," Sivasailam said. "They would be required to comply with supply and demand in the dining market. If we eliminate the monopoly we can increase options and lower prices."

Krause served as vice chairman of the Academic Affairs for several years, which Zucco said makes his nomination a logical choice.

"He's been involved with MSA and Academic Affairs for a very long time," Zucco said. "He's the kind of person that you can go to with any questions about bylaws or how Senate works. I think he has a lot of institutional knowledge about MSA that he can bring to the table."

Both Zucco and Shelton said Krause is capable in interactions with faculty and administration.

"Ian is excellent at working and problem-solving with faculty and administration, which is absolutely vital in an Academic Affairs Chair," Shelton said in an e-mail.

Shelton pointed out the need for retention of senators in the Academic Affairs committee, as membership has been decreasing in recent semesters.

Zucco agreed the committee has always been one of the smaller ones, but she was not worried about Krause's ability to retain members. Shelton said she and Krause have already discussed ideas pertaining to membership issues.