The Missouri Students Association selected a new chairman and chairwoman to fill vacant positions left by members of the new executive cabinet.
Senator Ben Vega was elected as chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee and senator Alyssa Noce was elected as chairwoman of the Campus and Community Relations Committee. Their terms have already begun.
**Ben Vega: Academic Affairs Committee Chairman**
Vega, who had previously served on the Academic Affairs Committee, is filling the seat former chairman Ben Levin left after joining the executive cabinet of Nick Droege and Zach Beattie. Levin will be serving as the legislative coordinator and aide to the cabinet, [according to a previous Maneater article](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/11/30/droegebeattie-select-msa-cabinet/).
After only serving as an MSA senator for one semester, Vega was chosen after a highly contested election against a colleague.
Two rounds of interviews were required to determine Vega as the best candidate, he said. Vega said he thought the direction he wanted to take Academic Affairs was superior.
“I want to make (Academic Affairs) really available for the student body,” Vega said. “A group that people feel comfortable coming to and speaking about the issues that they have in student academics.”
Vega said he wants to spread awareness of the committee on campus with short presentations before classes telling students about what they do, who they are and how to get involved.
Vega cites numerous instances when others knew little or nothing about MSA and what it does. When one student applied to be a senator, he said that he learned where the condoms were located on campus but not what MSA was or what they did at Summer Welcome.
Levin left the position with a legacy of intense involvement with faculty, something Vega said he hopes to continue. As for his own, Vega wants it to be one of contact with students, bolstering their relationship with MSA, he said.
**Alyssa Noce: Campus and Community Relations Committee Chairwoman**
Noce, like Vega, is filling a seat that was left by someone to become a member of the Droege/Beattie cabinet. Mason Schara previously served as Campus and Community Relations Committee chairman until he was asked to serve as the chief of staff in the cabinet.
Noce has an extensive background in MSA, beginning before she enrolled at MU. Her brother, Tim Noce, also served as the CCRC chair and was later elected MSA president.
Her brother’s influence, however, had no direct influence on Noce. This is what she wanted to do, she said.
As a leader, Noce said she would like to establish herself as confident and able to encourage group discussion. Through a brainstorming forum, the group will be able to act on the ideas produced, Noce said.
This is evident in the committee’s focus on three main projects: a campus and community-wide Easter egg hunt; an improvement to the recycling program, Greeks Going Green; and bringing Taste of Columbia to Francis Quadrangle.
As far as the future is concerned, Noce wants to be remembered for the events the CCRC is able to put on during her tenure, she said.
“(I want) everybody to say, ‘CCRC made events something like nobody’s ever seen,’” Noce said.