The night was like the Golden Globe Awards of MU, but instead of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honoring actors, the night honored the new leaders of the Missouri Students Association.
MSA President Nick Droege, Vice President Zach Beattie and their cabinet were officially inaugurated at a formal dinner Wednesday night in Stotler Lounge.
Many of MU’s stars were there: the chancellor, the vice chancellor of student affairs and various student government leaders.
Those who spoke at the event reflected their excitement for the newly inaugurated leaders.
“As we look around at these future leaders, we’re really looking at our future tonight,” Chancellor Brady Deaton said. “If you’re like me, you’re feeling really great about the future.”
The beginning of the night not only honored those newly inaugurated leaders but also the former leaders of MSA.
“You kept students informed and kept students involved, not just about MSA,” said Cathy Scroggs, vice chancellor of student affairs. “You had a sense of the direction that looked to the future. To the former cabinet, Helena (Kooi) and Xavier (Billingsley), thank you for your hard work.”
Scroggs also called on the new executives to lead on important issues including affordable student housing on campus and funding issues with the university.
Droege and Beattie expressed their excitement for the future in their individual speeches.
“When you walk into the MSA offices, you can feel that things are happening,” Beattie said.
Beattie said students’ questions helped them develop their platform – a platform they are working to deliver.
“We adapted our platform again and again and again until we had a platform we were proud of,” he said. “We have a lot in store for the year.”
In Droege’s speech, he said that his role as MSA president is not all perks.
“It’s hard because you need to delve into the problems of the community,” he said.
Helping students is his main goal, he said.
“The function of freedom is to free someone else, and I can confidently stand before you and say we will do just that,” Droege said. “Now is the time to do just that.”
Thom Carter contributed to this report.
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