Whiteside resigns as MSA Student Affairs chairman

He is the third chairperson to resign this semester.

By Kaylen Ralph

Published Oct. 30, 2009

The Missouri Students Association has another vacant legislative committee chairperson position after Student Affairs Chairman Paul Whiteside announced his resignation Wednesday at the Senate meeting.

Whiteside said he made the decision to resign in the interest of devoting any spare time he might have to his studies.

"I'm a Biomedical Engineering major and this is my senior year, so the research I'm conducting in the Life Sciences building in addition to my capstone class requirements are simply demanding more and more time as the semester goes on, so I have hardly any left to adequately fulfill my duties as chairman," Whiteside said.

Whiteside is leaving the committee in the midst of several large projects he said he would like to see completed by his replacement. These include getting the Cricket Club a space on Hinkson Field, working with the library to reincorporate the print quota to include copying facilities and collaborating with the Sustainability Office on the possibility of a campus-wide bike rental program.

Whiteside sent MSA Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton his official resignation Tuesday, but Shelton said this did not surprise her.

"He had mentioned at the beginning of the semester that he would be transitioning out so he could focus on research and academic pursuits," Shelton said. "So preparation for this has been going on for a while."

Shelton said one of the things that will be missed most about Whiteside is his ability to handle multiple issues at a time. She said this is a very necessary skill in a committee with so large a focus and is looking for this important quality in prospective applicants for this position as well.

"With a committee as large as Student Affairs, the new chairperson will not have to worry about recruitment and can start working on the projects and issues themselves almost immediately," Shelton said.

Whiteside added friendliness and approachability as qualities he personally feels are important for the Student Affairs chairperson to possess.

"The new chairperson must be friendly, considerate and above all, approachable," Whiteside said. "Fellow senators and members of the MSA constituency, the entire student body, must always feel that they can talk freely with the chairperson of Student Affairs."