Inside Out, an initiative to increase inclusivity through peer and ORG training, is a major part of Jordan McFarland and Jonathan Segers’ platform, which deals with social justice issues.
McFarland and Segers are encouraging student leaders to complete training in Green Dot, Safe Space and Diversity Peer Educator. By completing this training as leaders, they hope to set an example for the rest of the student body.
The candidates would also like to see the formation of a Greek Liaison Office, which would call for increased communication between Greek Life and the remainder of the campus. They have high hopes that through this connection, MU will be able to further prevent cases of sexual assault, mental health and domestic violence. The Greek Liaison Office would erase barriers that have come up between Greek Life and other students.
“Many people, they come on this campus without Greek affiliation,” Segers said. “They come on without MSA affiliation. They come onto campus without titles. They come on as a student first.”
Lean On is another program on their platform that addresses mental health in a way that increases exposure and creates for a safe and trusting environment for students. The program would be based off of existing resources and would draw attention to the aid that is already available.
“We have to live it,” McFarland said. “We have to be serious about it. We have to have genuineness about it. And I hope that when students read this or watch the live thing, they’ll see that we’re genuine.”
In addition, McFarland and Segers plan to re-introduce an office for diversity and inclusion within MSA. This, along with the creation of the program Mizzou ‘49 that recognizes students in the social justice community, will ensure that these issues continue to be worked on in all student organizations.
“We have to look at these issues that affect all of us in the social justice community as unique, yet interdependent,” McFarland said.
To McFarland and Segers, dealing with social justice issues is all about communication. They believe that a representative of the student body should have strong communication skills.
In an interview following Friday’s debate, Segers said that he didn’t believe Haden Gomez and Chris Hanner were fit for the job because of their unwillingness to communicate.
“I had formerly met these two individuals at the slate meeting, the one that was closed door, when the cameras weren’t there, when the reporters weren’t there,” Segers said. “They immediately got up and walked out of the room. They did not speak to myself or Jordan. They did not speak to Heather or Syed. So, that says a lot about character.”
McFarland supports Segers’ assertion.
“You can’t afford to have someone who does it because it’s convenient or does it because it’s just on the platform to cover their butts,” McFarland said. “You’ve got to have someone who’s been working through this their entire collegiate career.”