MSA’s Senators met for a Full Senate meeting on Feb. 14, where they held discussion with guest speakers and confirmed new members.
The Missouri Students Association convened for a Full Senate meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m. in the Student Center’s Leadership Auditorium. Guest speakers were invited to discuss dining services and gauge student opinion on potential upcoming changes to campus dining. The Senate also confirmed new members and discussed executive, judicial and legislative updates.
Legislative Assistant Danny Daugherty and Speaker of the Senate Lane Cargile began the meeting with a motion to approve the agenda, which all Senators approved.
Cargile then moved on to their “Special Orders of the Day,” the first being their “special guest presentation” which included Donald Jackson, associate director of Campus Dining Services, Sarah Chinniah, vice chancellor for business operations and strategic initiatives and Heath Immel, director of student unions, campus reservations, and parking and transportation.
Chinniah addressed the Senators stating that herself, Jackson and Immel were hoping to gauge student opinion on dining services.
“We wanted to come and talk to you today because we’re thinking about how we serve students,” Chinniah said. “So, we’re hoping to have a conversation with you today just to hear about your experience with dining services — things that go really well, things you hope to see, improvements and any advice for us as you think about your experience.”
Chinniah said campus dining wages will be a big conversation in the upcoming salary planning for next year. In response to Senator Trey Trapani’s question regarding what steps administration is taking to make sure student employees working for Campus Dining Services are compensated fairly, Chinniah said Nancy Monteer, the Director of Dining Services, has done a “great job” to increase wages over the past year.
“Hearing that [employee compensation is] important for MSA is a really good data point because when you think about a unit like dining services, it’s the fees and the funds that you pay that fund that organization,” Chinniah said. “So, we’re always looking at how we ensure the best quality of food, the right offering of food, and then we support the operations.”
Senator Jordon Johnson asked about the university’s plans for the Mizzou Market on Hitt Street, which is under the jurisdiction of Campus Dining Services. Chinniah, Jackson and Immel said this market will close as part of upcoming MU Health Care renovations. Chinniah first said the administration tentatively plans for the new market to be close to the Virginia Avenue Parking Structure or in Emporium Café.
“We’re really looking at modeling some kind of staffless, cashless model, but we’d really like to hear from you all,” Chinniah said.
After many Senators said the Hitt Street Market was one of the only dining options for students residing in nearby campus housing, the guest speakers proposed moving the market to the Student Center, and many Senators agreed this central location would be convenient for students. Chinniah, Jackson and Immel said MU has not made any final decisions for the market’s location but is taking this, and all the other statements of the night, into serious consideration.
Many Senators shared concerns about late-night and weekend dining options, stating that many venues close too early, and many students have to travel off campus for food on the weekends.
Senators also said students are hoping for more variety, such as home-cooked-style food, healthy options and fresh produce, and there should be more vegetarian and vegan options around campus as well.
At the end of the discussion, the guest speakers asked for the Senators’ advice on gathering students’ opinions, to which Senators proposed ideas like QR codes to surveys on receipts or email surveys.
Daugherty shared his hopes of what will come from discussing these issues with the guest speakers.
“When we meet with administrators, we always hope to see our feedback translated into tangible change seen on campus,” Daughtery said. “In terms of meeting with CDS, we heard a lot of student opinions about the lack of healthy, accessible food options, needing longer, more consistent hours for our dining locations and better treatment and pay for our student CDS employees.”
He also reiterated the importance of MSA’s relationship with MU administration.
“As MSA, we hope to have a line of communication established with these administrators as the first steps are taken to turn these ideas into a reality and we plan to foster that relationship as primary stakeholders when those projects progress,” Daughtery said.
Senators then began “at-large confirmations,” where new members of MSA’s Senate were confirmed. Students Ayden Carr, Fei Li Gilbert, Lukas Hawkins, Kayla Hill, Desmond Jones, Logan Kuykendall, Janessa Moore and Ally Sharp are now all confirmed MSA Senators through the Full Senate vote, which was “unanimous by acclimation.”
Next, Senators moved on to the “Consent Agenda,” where judicial confirmations were approved. This means that certain MSA members were confirmed to their judicial appointments. Students Sophia Myers, Andrew Deyoe, Elisha Schoor and Ben Ptasienski were confirmed as Interim Associate Justices. Prior to their appointment, all four justices were interviewed by the Internal Affairs Committee on Feb. 9. Benjamin Baumgart was confirmed as the Interim Board of Elections Commissioners Chair, which means he will preside over the upcoming MSA presidential elections.
Cargile then moved on to “Open Forum,” where Senators were allowed to bring up any concerns or questions. After being confirmed as the BEC Chair, Baumgart said he is looking for a vice chair. No other Senators spoke during the open forum.
Cargile then addressed the absence of MSA Adviser Angela King Taylor by giving the “Adviser’s Report.” The report solely consisted of an update regarding the release of the applications for positions within the Center for Student Involvement.
Senators moved on to their executive, judicial, and legislative reports. President Josiah Mendoza addressed the Senators with his “Executive Report” in which he only had one update to give; the Emily Kirk Memorial Scholarship deadline has been extended to March 1. With their Chief Justice, Aidan Lurtz, absent the Senators skipped “Judicial Reports,” moving to the “Legislative Reports,” where Cargile addressed the Senators again.
Cargile first reminded Senators that election season is coming up and they should not endorse any campaign because of their positions. Senators are allowed to follow and support campaigns as a private individual but must not endorse any campaign on behalf of MSA.
The floor was then open for any committee chairs to give any updates they had, to which no one did.
Cargile and Daugherty closed out the meeting by showcasing new MSA logo design concepts.
MSA will hold another Full Senate meeting, which all students can attend, on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in Leadership Auditorium.
Edited by Annie Goldman and Zoe Homan | agoldman@themaneater.com, zhoman@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Lauren Courtney
