Noce, Bellis elected MSA president, vice president
MSA announced the new leaders Wednesday night.
Published Nov. 13, 2009
Tim Noce and Danielle Bellis have officially been voted into the Missouri Students Association executive office as president and vice president, respectively.
Board of Elections Commissioners Chairman Dan Kelley announced the election results at 10 p.m. Wednesday night on the stairs of Jesse Hall. Members of MSA celebrated the event with pizza and soda.
"We were impressed by the number of students who voted," Vice President-elect Bellis said.
The presidential candidates went through the election process unopposed. Despite only one candidate option and the Web site being down for close to two hours during the election, 998 people voted.
The two had a campaign platform based on the strengths Noce and Bellis have had experience with as members of MSA.
Formerly the director of Student Communications, Noce said he aims to better campus and community relations, technology and campus finances. Bellis was the former chief of staff for the MSA executive branch and a member of the operations committee.
"I think their platform is great," MSA President Jordan Paul said. "They are intelligent in their decision to start with communication and technology. Their experience from DSC and Campus and Community Relations is being applied to the work they are doing now, and it's an intelligent place to start."
Because they were running unopposed, campaigning was not as time-consuming as it would have normally been up to the time of election. Noce and Bellis have already been able to meet with administration about concerns the student population might have.
"We're trying to keep things at or below inflation because students don't want to be nickel and dimed," Bellis said. "We're starting to meet with faculty about student fees, such as the new student life reallocation, to fully understand their positions."
They have also been working to improve MU technology for students. Noce has been collaborating with the Division of Information Technology and other students to develop an iPhone application for MU that is projected to debut in the spring semester.
"We've made a lot of strides in technology," Noce said. "We now have a guy's personal number, and if there is a dead spot on campus we call him and the problem is fixed within the week."
In community relations, Noce and Bellis said they strive to develop the relationship between MU and Columbia by placing liaisons, or non-voting members, into council meetings. Noce has been able to draw many ideas from the Big 12 student government conference he and Paul attended together last weekend.
Noce and Bellis also aim to develop a better relationship between Greek Life and MSA because they make up a large portion of the student community, Noce said. There has not been a president of MSA who was also a member of the Greek community in a few years. Bellis is not involved with Greek Life.
"I am very excited to start working with Tim and Danielle," MSA Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton said. "I have known both of them for the entirety of our careers in MSA, and they are both genuinely kind-hearted and goal-oriented."
