Big 12 Student Government Conference inspires MSA
MSA throws ideas around with guidance from other schools.
Published Dec. 4, 2009
Missouri Students Association President Jordan Paul released a list of projects to jumpstart Senate action as a part of his final executive report.
"It's kind of a spark to get things moving for the young kids in Senate right now," Paul said. "This way I can tell them how to do it, they find out how things work and they also get things done."
Paul said the projects originated from the Big 12 Student Government Conference he and MSA President-elect Tim Noce attended last month. The list is comprised of ideas for student government action that has been successful at other schools. The list was handed out in the full-Senate meeting Wednesday.
It was also Paul's last full-Senate meeting as president of MSA.
"I think the most important issue is representation or getting down in the trenches with student issues," Noce said. "I believe that the idea for an issue of the week survey and tabling one or two days per week by senate could dramatically improve this."
Baylor University's student government practices the issues of the week idea, Paul said in his outline of the list. The student senators conduct paper surveys from a table on campus to figure out what is important to the student body. Paul said MSA has not practiced the tabling method in the past in his outline.
One of the ideas adopted from Iowa State University is having a member of student government sit in on City Council meetings and keep up with local issues.
"I am currently in the process of appointing a new CCRC chair, and I spoke today with that committee's leadership about definitely having someone to go to city Chamber of Commerce meetings and City Council meetings," Senate speaker Amanda Shelton said. "This will keep us abreast of issues of concern in the community that we need to address and will also be great experience for Senators."
Paul said the committees have not been producing a lot of legislation this year. This could be partially due to the large turnover rate in committee chairperson this year. Four committee chairpersons have resigned so far this semester.
The list has 17 options for Senate members to choose from. One of the projects listed is a suggested improvement on the wait list option on myZou that originated from Texas Tech University.
"The wait list option on myZou so you don't have to play a guessing game and you are automatically dropped into it," Paul said.
There is also an idea from Baylor and Oklahoma State University of a welcome event at the beginning of the school year. The goal is to initiate students into learning about MU and the community in Columbia as they begin their college experience.
Another suggestion is for student refunds for classes to extend for a week after attending classes and receiving a 100 percent refund if the class does not seem like a good fit for the student. MU refunds 90 percent after the first day of classes.
The list recommends committees for each project, but anyone in MSA can take up a project. Paul credits Kansas State University with this idea.
"Ideally they'll just go out and do it," Paul said about MSA's list of ideas.
8:29 a.m., Dec. 4, 2009
Butch Oxendine said:
Using tables to "survey" fellow students doesn't work. A better alternative is for each of your officers and members to committ to surveying one student in person each day of their terms of office. If MSA has 100 or more members, you can survey hundreds of students IN PERSON weekly and thousands over the course of a year. It will show that MSA is reaching out throughout the year to constituents and not just during election season. It takes MSA to fellow students instead of waiting for them to come to a table. The average student doesn't care about MSA, so you have to take MSA to them to get them to become more aware and eventually care about MSA.