Robert Schmidt and running mate Alp Kahveci are running for Missouri Students Association president and vice president, respectively.
They are running under the slogan “Mizzou for You” and a platform that focuses on increased student input, more political involvement, promotion of healthy living and sustainability. Schmidt said that they published their website April 5 and launched their campaign via Facebook on April 8.
Schmidt and Kahveci are one of two slates running in the MSA presidential election.
Neither Schmidt nor Kahveci have served on MSA in any official position, but Schmidt thinks this will benefit the campaign.
“You don’t make it through Bio Chem 2 without being able to ask questions,” Schmidt said. “[Our campaign is] mostly biochemistry majors, and you don’t make it to that point without being able to work hard, ask questions and learn fast. Certainly we don’t have a lot of experience, but I think we’d learn quickly, try hard and be willing to ask people who have come before us.”
Schmidt decided to run for president after he learned the amount of money MSA controls.
“I was actually reading a few articles from The Maneater that were talking about MSA’s budget and how much money they control and how few students are actually giving input on it,” Schmidt said. “There are just over 20 students controlling just over 20,000 students’ money.”
The budget is the main focus of Schmidt’s campaign. He wants to get more student input on how their money is spent.
“I really wanted to run to get more student input and involvement in MSA,” Schmidt said. “Just to give people more of a chance to get their opinion on what their money should be spent on.”
He hopes to do this by emailing students the yearly budget and asking what they do and do not wish to continue funding.
Along with his budget goals, Schmidt hopes to get more students involved in government by getting speakers to come to MU’s campus in preparation for the 2018 midterm elections.
One speaker he hopes to bring to MU is Sen. Claire McCaskill, who was brought to campus in February by Mizzou Democrats. He hopes this will inspire more students to be politically active.
Schmidt and Kahveci also plan to improve sustainability on MU’s campus by encouraging Campus Dining Services to expand its current composting system.
“We will push for Mizzou to waste less and save more,” the campaign website states. “In particular, we will encourage Campus Dining Services to decrease the amount of stuff that ends up in landfills by expanding the existing composting program as well as exploring ways of getting individuals on campus to recycle more and throwaway [sic] less.”
However, the main goal of the campaign is to increase student awareness and involvement, especially in terms of the MSA budget.