This is the fourth part of in series looking at the Missouri Students Association presidential slates and their platform position. This article focuses on each slate and its stance on MU academics.

**Bilingsley-Kooi**
 
For its slate’s platform on academics, the Xavier Billingsley and Helena Kooi campaign has decided to address the plus-minus controversy here at MU. Billingsley said when he talked to students around campus, many were upset about the impact the grading scale had on their GPAs. 
 
“Our main thing is to look into the plus-minus system,” Billingsley said. “We really want to work with the Faculty Council to see if this really is beneficial for our student body.”
 
Within the Big 12 Conference, only three members — MU, Texas Tech and Iowa State — use the plus-minus system. According to the registrar office’s website, the plus-minus system went into effect during the fall semester of 1998.
 
“Maybe we can see if we can get a strategic planning committee to look into this specifically to find out if plus or minus really helps our student population,” Billingsley said.
 
Billingsley said his campaign also wants to look into keeping the price of textbooks low for students.
 
“We’re really big into making sure students have the best possibility of affording textbooks,” Billingsley said. “Our bookstore is good at keeping costs for students as low as possible, but we can always have some improvement in that area.” 

**Bruer-Cartee**

As evidenced by his background in the Missouri Students Association as former Academic Affairs chairman, Everett Bruer has experience with academic reform. His and Lexie Cartee’s presidential platform reflects Bruer’s history with the subject.

Bruer was MSA’s Academic Affairs committee chair and a member of the Vice Chancellor’s Standing Committee on Academic Assessment.

Bruer and Cartee hope to add several features to MyZou.

“What we’re trying to do is take grade distribution, GPA calculator, course catalog for whatever academic college you’re in and professor review,” Bruer said. “We’re putting that all together through either our own website or possibly even through, if we could work it out, through MyZou.”

The slate’s MSA profile describes the plan as a way to consolidate every resource currently available to students for class registration.

Bruer said the motivation behind the website reform is to help MU students.

“Basically, (we’re) trying to help students find classes easier,” he said.

Bruer said it’s important to him for every student to have the opportunity to have a successful career at MU.

“We’re all here to get an education, ultimately,” he said.

**Loeffler-Damico**

MSA presidential candidate Greg Loeffler is tired of academics being overlooked.

“Obviously, the reason that we’re here is for academics,” Loeffler said.

Before scheduling his classes, Loeffler uses Rate My Professors, a website where he can see what former students thought of their classes and instructors. But Loeffler said he wants to research his classes further.

“MSA has already been working on a syllabus archive, which is a really exciting idea,” he said. “We want to continue to push that along, to make sure that’s a service available to all students.”

His running mate, Lauren Damico, said she is proud of MSA for emphasizing student academic rights.

“We’re here to be students first,” Damico said. “We just passed a referendum for students’ rights, pretty much giving us the ability to share notes without getting in trouble with the university.”

Faculty Council is reviewing a statement on academic freedom given by the UM System that would limit the way students would be able to share class material with their peers. MSA does not necessarily agree with this statement because it would affect all kinds of notes, including paper notes, Loeffler said.

“When we’re on a big campus like this, the idea is to share your experiences and share everything,” he said. “One of those things is simply academic notes.”