Wrapped up in the chaos of this time of year, it’s tough to stay on top of everything happening on campus. But for the little time we’ve been in tune with this MSA election season, we haven’t been overly pleased with what we’ve seen.
During the time we spent as current MSA President and Vice President Nick Droege and Zach Beattie’s campaign managers, we learned a thing or two about what it takes, and doesn’t take, to win a student body election. Because of that, we have one bit of advice for this year’s campaign teams and their supporters: Cool it with the drama.
Our goals with Nick and Zach’s campaign were simple: Let’s show campus how intelligent and motivated these guys are through personal interaction and a fun online presence. We have yet to see that from some candidates this campaign season.
Elections aren’t about how much you can nitpick the other campaigns. Well, they shouldn’t be.
Filing infractions against your competition is bad campaign strategy. Online trash talk is not the way to win votes. Instead of seeing another shared story about the BEC and election rules, we want to see someone post their ideas for the budget or how to improve student services.
We applaud BEC Chairman David Wettroth and his commitment to MSA. He’s tried to do the right thing — and we believe he has. He’s tried to make this election less about the claws and more about the issues.
We also want to recognize that not every MSA player is at fault. This letter isn’t to everyone involved in the election this season, because we have seen good things sprinkled throughout the campaigns. But at the root of it all, the problem is widespread: there are guilty parties from candidates, to senators, to casual supporters. When the people in charge play dirty, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.
This election season has been nothing short of disappointing. Not in terms of the candidates’ credentials — we’re confident that any of the slates will perform excellently in the future. Rather, our concern is the way in which Mizzou’s future leaders are conducting themselves.
In our time at Mizzou, we’ve seen what competition can do to people. People can turn into a version of themselves that they’ll look back at one day with regret. It’s one thing to want to win the election; it’s another to toss your friends and sense of decency under the bus in order to do it.
Take a moment to really consider what the fuss is about: a student body election. Take it from two people that have been there: A year from now, you’re going to want to kick back with a beer and laugh about how much fun you had that one time you filled 25 Jack-o-Lanterns with candy to campaign — not the time you posted a snarky comment about someone you call a “friend” in pursuit of winning an election.
This has become more about ego than about votes. This problem is bigger than tacky campaigning — the leadership at Mizzou has gone awry. We must do better.
We’re saddened by the cattiness and pettiness we’ve seen over the past few weeks because we both know how great MSA can be. It is our hope that MSA will become even better under next year’s leadership, but because of the “Infraction Distraction” (as we keep calling it), we haven’t had a chance to truly discover HOW each slate would make MSA better.
So, if we had to offer the slates any advice going into the final days of campaigning, here’s what we would tell you: Cut it out. Keep your eyes on your own paper and tell us why we should vote for YOU — not why we shouldn’t vote for the other slates.
If we had to offer some advice to the voters? Man. That’s tougher. All we can tell you is to follow your gut. Meet the candidates, surf the web–do whatever it is you need to do to get a feel for each slate.
We’d say read The Maneater, but even the campus newspaper notorious for informing the student body about the elections better than anyone has been a little bit sensationalist this year. Take into account [its recent editorial concerning the BEC chairman](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/11/6/becs-shortcomings-jeopardize-integrity-msa-electio/): not only is it a pointed attack at someone who is using his office to make the election about the candidates rather than the drama, but it also included a major and concerning error [that it had previously reported on](https://www.themaneater.com/blogs/campus/2013/3/31/msa-discusses-budget-and-confirms-new-budget-commi/) concerning his salary.
At the end of the day, two of the six remaining candidates are going to take the two offices on the second floor of the Student Center. But let’s not forget that the remaining four are going to continue being campus leaders in their own right — and smearing all of the hard work they’ve poured into their campaigns is no way to treat them.
There’s another Presidential debate tonight at 5 p.m. in the Women’s Center. Be there and let the candidates speak for themselves — not behind the guise of a computer screen or an attack aimed at another slate.
_— Samantha Green and Jimmy Hibsch, students and Droege/Beattie Campaign Managers_
