Letter to the Editor:
MSA is your student government
Student communications director explains the workings of MSA.
Published June 3, 2009
During the last two years at MU, involvement in student government has increased exponentially. From only a few students running in each academic college for Missouri Students Association Senate in 2007, several hundred decided to get involved and run in 2008. This year was no exception to the recent trend, as all colleges remained fully represented after the MSA Senate election in April. Meanwhile, MSA entities such as STRIPES and MUTV are experiencing record volunteer and membership numbers. It's truly an exciting time to be involved in MSA.
In turn, I am writing this column to explain MSA to ALL students, so they can understand exactly how they (and their thoughts) are represented.
Similar to the federal government, the Missouri Students Association is comprised of three branches. These are the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
The executive branch consists of the president, vice president and the executive cabinet. The president and vice president are elected each year during the fall semester.
The executive cabinet consists of the chief of staff, the director of Student Services, the director of Student Communication, the director of Student Activities and the director of Auxiliaries. Each director oversees an executive department, which consists of several committees. The executive branch also oversees each of MSA's nine auxiliaries: the MSA/GPC Box Office, the Craft Studio, the Student Design Center, KCOU, MUTV, the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center, STRIPES, Student Legal Services and the Tech Crew.
The Senate is the legislative body of MSA. Senators are elected through and represent the 13 academic colleges at the University of Missouri. Seat allotment is based on enrollment. In addition, there are a number of seats set aside for those who wish to run at-large and for incoming freshmen. The Senate is led by the speaker and the Senate cabinet. The Senate standing committees include Operations, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Campus and Community Relations, Operations, Multicultural Issues and Budget.
The judicial branch consists of the Student Court, which is composed of nine justices, one of which is designated chief justice and presides over the court. Each justice is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The justices serve for all of their membership in MSA or until resignation, removal or death.
As you can see, there are MANY opportunities to get involved with MSA and if you are interested, please contact the following people for more information.
Department of Student Communication -- Tim Noce: tjnoce@mizzou.edu
Department of Student Services -- Ryan Senciboy: ryanwsenciboy@mizzou.edu
Department of Student Activities -- Ben Hansen: bahgzd@mizzou.edu
Department of Auxiliaries -- Joe Fessehaye: jrfcn3@mizzou.edu
MSA Senate -- Amanda Shelton: sasfhc@mizzou.edu
Student Court -- Eric Woods: emw6g4@mizzou.edu
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