A commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri took place Friday in Memorial Student Union.
The event was organized by Jackson Jacobson, ASUM undergraduate representative and programming committee chair.
“It’s really important because the amount of work that ASUM has done for students over the past 50 years,” Jacobson said. “…Service to our fellow students should be celebrated and commended for an anniversary like this,”
Current and past members of ASUM congregated in the Stotler Lounge for the ceremony, which included dinner and speakers attesting to ASUM’s presence in their lives.
“As a student leader now, you know the stories and stuff, but hearing it directly, like from those people and those kind of giants that help build the foundation that we work off now is really important,” Jacobson said.
Former Columbia mayor Mary Anne McCollum, who also served as ASUM’s executive director from 1987 to 2004, emphasized the impact ASUM can have on its members’ careers after graduation.
“Gaining that experience gives them a definite advantage going forward after they graduate,” McCollum said. “It opens up for them a whole new world in terms of, if they want to go into state government, do policy research on issues, it’s just a wonderful opportunity to explore various paths.”
McCollum’s speech gave insight into the impact she had on the organization during her 17-year tenure.
“If you are 19 of the 50 years of the history of this whole thing, you are important, and you need to speak, and your story needs to be heard,” Jacobson said.
Robert Monsees, ASUM Board of Directors chair from 1991-1992 and vice president of legislative affairs at the Missouri Hospital Association, detailed the effect ASUM had on his career.
“The baseline that I had at ASUM absolutely was a very strong foundation for the rest of my career,” Monsees said. “And I’ve done, I’ve spent a lot of time in the state capitol, working lots of different kinds of issues.”
In a speech detailing the organization’s 50-year history, Ryan Highfill, ASUM executive director and board chair, emphasized just how many individuals have given to the organization throughout the past five decades.
According to Highfill, there were 491 directors, advisors and board members; 335 legislative advocates and interns; 38 chairs of the board; and 21 students on the Board of Curators throughout the club’s history.
According to Highfill’s calculations, each intern works an average of 192 hours per semester. ASUM spends a significant portion of its funds to support interns, per Highfill. On average, each of the four UM System schools has two interns.
The funding model that ASUM has operated under for its 50-year history is under immense change that could result in the organization folding, as previously reported by The Maneater.
In 1984, ASUM paved the way for a student to be allowed on the UM System Board of Curators. Gayatri Bhatt, former student representative on the Board of Curators and Missouri S&T alumnus, gave final words of inspiration to the gathering in her speech.
“The next wave will come and be stronger,” Gayatri said.
