Junior Brayden Pirrung and sophomore Elise Lewis are one slate running for Missouri Students Association president and vice president. They are running under the name “Pirrung-Lewis ‘26”.
While Pirrung, the presidential candidate, has been involved in MSA for three semesters, Lewis joined after a campaign invitation from Pirrung in September.
“He knew, kind of, the heart I had for public service,” Lewis said. “So he came to me about running alongside him, and I was super excited as a business student, (to) give a different perspective into MSA and make change for the good of (the) Mizzou Tigers.”
Pirrung and Lewis were familiar with each other before attending the University of Missouri. In high school, they both worked for the American Legion Boys and Girls State of Missouri programs, an educational program that works with high school students to form a mock government.
Pirrung is a junior by credit studying constitutional democracy and political science and was elected as an at-large senator after joining MSA during his first semester. He was then elected as an academic senator for the College of Arts and Science. In his position, he served as chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, where he advocated for credit transfers associated with the Seal of Biliteracy.
Lewis is a sophomore in the Trulaske College of Business, where she is a part of the Cornell Leadership Program, which is designed for business majors who have strong leadership and academic skills. Lewis is also a member of the Bid Day committee for her sorority, Delta Gamma.
While working alongside Pirrung, Lewis feels that their friendship has turned into a mentorship for her.
“He just cares for this university and MSA, and how knowledgeable he is in every aspect,” Lewis said. “I just feel like I’ve learned so much about the university and the inner workings from him, and just ways to make that better.”
Pirrung said his and Lewis’ ideas are “bread and butter” issues that directly affect student experience at MU.
“At the end of the day, the student government is students for students, and we just want to put them first,” Pirrung said. “We want to make sure that their student experience is top notch, and (make) sure that student government can do that.”
The Pirrung-Lewis ‘26 slate originally ran under the campaign slogan “Revive the Roar,” a slogan used by another MSA campaign in 2024. The reused name led many to raise questions of prior use and originality. The campaign was officially changed following an apology issued in an Instagram post, which was posted on Feb. 28. The post was met with backlash from commenters concerned about the authenticity of the apology and potential disrespect toward the original slate.
“We’re trying to take accountability,” Pirrung said. “The Instagram post with us redacting our name – it states the facts. It states the truth. We were unaware that the 2024 slate used that name. And while the comments have been hurtful, attacking our characters, it’s something that we knew could happen going into the public light, but we never knew that it was going to be about the slogan.”
After the Feb. 28 Instagram post, a complaint was anonymously filed with MSA’s Board of Elections Commissioners, which approve the paperwork for slates, but do not pass judgment on the filing’s content. The complaint alleged that Pirrung and Lewis were dishonest, and that they knew about the “Revive the Roar” name before filing. This prompted a BEC investigation that found that the slate was aware of the name ahead of time, and was dishonest with the public and BEC in their Instagram post. The Maneater’s interview with this slate was conducted before BEC made a ruling.
Lewis believes that this experience has taught them lessons on how to receive feedback and make changes as leaders by respecting the wishes of their constituents.
“At the end of the day, we’re students,” Lewis said. “This is an educational space and community, and a space for learning. And I could say Brayden and I both have really learned so much from that experience, and I think it’s really taught us, down to (the) foundation of our campaign, is we are going to listen to our constituents.”
The slate will continue to campaign next week, starting with a debate with the other slate, Caring For Our Claws, on Monday, March 16, from 6-7 p.m. Voting will take place March 17 through 19 via MU Engage or on-site polling.
