MSA committees work to meet liaison bylaw requirements

Several groups have failed to maintain committee liaisons in past semesters.

By Kelly Olejnik

Published Sept. 24, 2010

Missouri Students Association committees are focusing on meeting MSA bylaw requirements that had not been followed by committees until last semester.

Within the MSA bylaws, most MSA committees are required to appoint and maintain liaisons within their respective committee. Although the requirements are clearly stated in the bylaws, most committees have failed to meet them in the past.

"The (committee) bylaws had not been practiced at all until last semester," MSA Senate Speaker Evan Wood said. According to the bylaws, committee chairpersons must appoint liaisons to attend the meetings of organizations relevant to their committee.

When appointing liaisons, chairs may ask for liaison volunteers and appoint whomever they see best fit for the liaison position. Liaisons duties include speaking with student organizations and groups of administrators. They are then responsible for and bringing the groups’ thoughts and opinions back to MSA.

The Campus and Community Relations Committee's bylaws require liaisons to attend Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council and Columbia City Council meetings. Despite CCRC's lack of active liaisons, Chairman Greg Loeffler said communication between CCRC and Columbia City Council and CCRC and Greek organizations is the committee's ultimate goal.

"A lot of times MSA Senate does not represent Greek Life as it should," Loeffler said. "CCRC will be working on building communication between MSA and Greek Life."

Although MSA members agree the relationship and communication between MSA and Greek Life need to be fostered, in past semesters CCRC has not appointed liaisons to attend the required Greek organization meetings that make these connections possible. Loeffler said liaisons for this year would be appointed in the near future.

According to the MSA bylaws, in addition to CCRC, the Academic Affairs Committee, the Student Affairs Committee and the Muliticultural Issues Committee are all required to appoint certain liaisons relevant to their committee's duties.

Wood said MCI has done the best job of maintaining liaisons and fulfilling its required duties. According to the bylaws, the MCI committee is supposed to have a liaison to the Legion of Black Collegians, Four Front and the Triangle Coalition.

"The liaisons give us (MCI) an update on what other organizations are doing," MCI Chairwoman Alex Holley said. "Liaisons help bring their (other organization's) issues to us instead of making the organizations come to us (MCI)."

Holley said liaisons have been present within MCI throughout the three years she has been involved with MSA.

"I really feel like the liaisons help make ourselves (MSA) more available to students," Holley said.

Because the bylaws have not been correctly followed by MSA committees, the Operations Committee is in the process of trimming the bylaws to make them more user-friendly as well as more relevant to the work of MSA.

"The Operations Committee is going through the practices in the bylaws and keeping the relevant requirements, but taking out the less relevant requirements," Wood said.

Mohn said Operations will be looking at whether the committees need to be meeting the requirements in the bylaws.

"We are not going to cut requirements out of the bylaws just because a committee is not practicing them now," Mohn said.