MSA slate “Mizzou Momentum” looks to tackle communication as only bid for presidency, vice presidency

When candidates Logan Kuykendall and Kaylie Lineback announced their bid for the 2025-2026 Missouri Students Association presidency on Feb. 10, they became the first slate in over a decade to run without an opponent. The slate will campaign for their platform until the MSA election opens on March 4.

“In a campaign, things can get so foggy, and I think that the student body can realize that we’re just trying to win someone over with a sticker or a T-shirt,” Lineback said. “Right now, we’re trying to win people over with our policy platform and the things that we do want to improve on campus.”

MSA is the University of Missouri’s undergraduate student government. The organization manages an annual budget, funded by part of MU’s undergraduate student activity fee. These funds are used to support programs like Tiger Pantry and STRIPES, provide students with resources and host student events. 

If elected to the presidency, Kuykendall and Lineback would act as the face of MSA and the undergraduate student body while advocating for student organization and policy goals with MU faculty and administration. 

The slate’s platform, MizzouMomentum, features four main points: progress, advocacy, wellness and sustainability. The pair also wants to tackle a disconnect in communication between MSA and other groups.

“It’s funny, because fundamentally, at its core, [it’s] not really [a] complex issue, but it has a lot of complex problems that have come with it because of how high our turnover has been over the last few years,” Kuykendall said.

To hear from stakeholders around campus, Kuykendall and Lineback plan to visit locations such as the Multicultural Center, the Women’s Center and several  houses in Greektown during their campaign.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Logan Kuykendall and Kaylie Lineback pose at Jesse Hall on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Columbia, Mo. “Over my time as clerk, I was able to really take a deep dive on why some of these systemic issues are happening, and I was able to really work with students and be like, ‘These things are still occurring, and these are things that we can fill the gaps on,’ and I know that these are things that we can try and have those intentional conversations and connections with,” Kuykendall said.

“We don’t know what we don’t know, and we’re not going to assume this is the correct solution,” Kuykendall said. “What are the problems you’re facing? What are the solutions you need? And how can we better help you as a student?… If there’s one thing MSA is good at, it is starting those conversations, and I think that is where we can do a lot more.”

Kuykendall plans to address communication lapses caused by the large size of MSA’s senate and the unclear conversation standards across student organizations.

“I think that communication with exec and Senate has burned a lot of bridges as well, not even in just this past administration, but in the past,” Kuykendall said. “We’re all working towards the same goal. I think that if we all discuss a better way of how we can communicate with more intentionality, then we would get a lot more things done.”

Both candidates have been involved in MSA for years. Lineback was an Arts and Sciences senator during her second semester at MU. Kuykendall has been an academic senator for the Colleges of Engineering and Arts and Sciences, an at-large senator and the Senate legislative clerk in the Fall 2024 semester. The pair met through the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, where they currently serve as the president and vice president. ASUM represents MU students in Missouri Congress while educating members on political participation.  Their partnership was secured after working on ASUM’s voter registration drive during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

“I think our work dynamic is what really solidified it for me, because as the president and vice president of ASUM we have been working so closely together, and I think taking that to the next level … it was such an easy decision,” Lineback said. 

After thinking about their partnership. Lineback texted Kuykendall asking if he wanted to run for the executive positions. 

“I literally said, ‘So funny you say that, because I literally was going to ask for the same thing,’” Kuykendall said. “Then we ended up going on a walk on a trail, and just ranting about everything and deciding that this is a go, and that we should do it.”

Kuykendall’s involvement as a legislative clerk required him to heavily examine the history of MSA through its archives, and influenced his decision to campaign for president.

“It was really fun taking a deep dive on those 50 years of records … and being like, ‘Okay, how did we really develop for the last 20 years?” Kuykendall said.

Lineback initially intended to come to MU for cheerleading, but a wrist surgery diverted her to joining the Kinder Institute’s freshman interest group. Once she was on campus, she began working at the Women’s Center and joined ASUM, where she has become involved in state politics. Currently, Lineback is running an ASUM policy impact project that will take a group of 13 student members to lobby for a bill at the state capitol. 

“My team is going to do research on legislation of their choice that is being debated right now in Missouri Congress,  either an affirmation or opposition of it,” Lineback said. “They’re kind of my little guinea pigs this year, just because it is a pilot program. They’re the ones who are reaching out to legislators they need to talk to. They’re the ones who are doing the specific research. So really, it’s up to them, and I’m just there to help and guide them along the way.”

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Logan Kuykendall and Kaylie Lineback pose at Memorial Union on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Columbia, Mo.  “I’m working with [ASUM] on a policy impact project,” Lineback said. “So they’re going to take one of ASUM’s pillars and find a piece of legislation right now in the Missouri legislature and either affirm or oppose it. I’m going to pay their lobbying fees, and we’re going to go and take them up to the Capitol sometime in April, and they’re going to meet with legislators on that legislation that they choose.”

Most of Kuykendall’s family consists of Missouri State University alums, but he fell in love with MU in high school after marching on campus in the Homecoming Parade.

“I just love the vibe, between the architecture, the energy, the people. I just loved the environment,” Kuykendall said. “And I love Columbia, and I loved the campus itself and how it integrated straight into downtown, and I honestly was hooked.”

The slate will be campaigning over the next two weeks, looking for input on their platform and holding conversations about how MSA can improve. Updates and events can be found on the slate’s Instagram at @MizzouMomentum.

Edited by Maya Dawson | mdawson@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com 

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com