Snow sits still on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 at Francis Quadrangle in Columbia, Mo. The snowstorm closed campus from Wednesday, Feb. 2 to Friday, Feb. 4.
Every four years, the Missouri Students Association, the undergraduate student government that represents the students’ needs at the University of Missouri, allows students to vote to renew the fee students pay to fund the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, a student organization in charge of legislative advocacy and political education. Recently, MSA made a call to action for students to vote for whether the fee of $0.48 per semester should stay in place.
According to MSA Senate Bill 61-10, which proposed the referendum, the purposes behind voting for the fee are to educate students on the political process and increase MU students’ interest in politics. But the main goal behind the voting process is to have sustained support from students on whether there should be a voting fee.
Some students do get their money back. MSA refunds students whenever they vote to appeal the voting fee. But Landon Brickey, the current president of MSA, said that he believes the ASUM voting fee is a hassle and wants to find a permanent solution to the refund.
“The ASUM fee has been sunsetting every four years since its inception,” Brickey said. “We are trying to make it permanent this year to match all other student fees and so ASUM, MSA and GPC (Graduate Professional Council) don’t have to put resources to refunding this fee every four years.”
The MSA election will start on Monday, March 7 at 6 p.m. and end on Wednesday, March 9 at 6 p.m. Students can vote on this issue on the Student Elections page. It will cost a fee of $0.48.
Edited by Emmet Jamieson | ejamieson@themaneater.com