Zeb Howell and Taylor McMahan’s campaign for the Missouri Students Association presidency and vice presidency, “Reimagine Mizzou,” is based on three platform goals: reimagine governance, reimagine our communities and reimagine our relationships. If elected, the pair hopes to promote policy that aligns with these goals during their year-long term, starting during the spring semester following the election. The Maneater spoke with the candidates to break down these initiatives. 

“Reimagine governance”

Howell and McMahan’s campaign prioritizes increasing communication between MSA and university administration. Specifically, Howell and McMahan are hoping to increase conversations between MSA and MU administration surrounding student concerns and questions.

As an example of how MSA interacts with administration on a regular basis, Howell cites the weekly meetings that are currently held between the MSA president, vice president, speaker of the senate and Bill Stackman, vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students.

If elected, the campaign would aim to utilize social media and outreach efforts to show students that MSA does directly communicate with administrators, demonstrating the importance and function of a student government.

If elected, the candidates also hope to “bridge the gap” between MU students and MSA by encouraging students to reach out to MSA leadership and other members.

“We have that basis [of communication with administrators], ” Howell said. “But we want to really put a face to the names. Students may know that we’re the undergraduate student government, but do they know that we already do meet with administrators? Probably not.”

This objective also aims to permanently fill the position of MSA advisor, which has been vacant for over a year and is currently filled by an interim advisor. 

“If MSA does not have a full term advisor, we as student leaders cannot work with that advisor to help students,” Howell said. “We can’t go out and just hire someone — that’s not our job as student leaders — but [we can continue] to voice that these are positions that need to be filled.”

The slate recently stated its dissatisfaction with the current state of communication between university officials and students in an Instagram post, saying  “a breakdown in communication has caused administrators to ineffectively serve Mizzou students.” 

If elected, the slate would work to increase student visibility of not only student leaders, but also increase student awareness of the role that administration plays at MU.

“Reimagine our communities”

Regardless of the organizations students choose to join, Howell and McMahan want to expand students’ knowledge of the involvement opportunities available to them on campus by utilizing social media and providing increased funding to student organizations.

“I want students to be involved in any org. that’s going to make Mizzou their home and bring them joy,” McMahan said. 

Howell and McMahan believe that MSA can play a role in encouraging student involvement by providing resources to students and organizations.

“I think that all student organizations on campus deserve the opportunity to have a platform for success and have the resources that they need to succeed,” McMahan said. “Whether that means financially, or a place to meet, or different things on campus that we can help implement.”

According to Howell, MSA provided funding to Mizzou Club Dance last fall, and says that while the club wouldn’t be able to get funding from the College of Arts and Science, MSA was able to provide resources for the group, an example of MSA’s support for student organizations.

“No matter which corner of campus people come from, it’s important that they know that MSA is here for them,” Howell said. 

The campaign also emphasized the importance of student safety. Howell and McMahan plan to prioritize campus safety measures and would like to make the MU Alert system more consistent.

“Last year, there [were] a lot of issues with MU alerts,” Howell said. “They were sending too many, and then they weren’t sending any at all, and they were very vague.” 

Howell and McMahan are pushing for an MU Alert system that is more concise and useful to students in order to avoid speculation and confusion on social media. They also want to reaffirm students by clarifying the actions of the administration and MUPD, through social media and communicating student concerns to administrators. 

“Reimagine our relationships”

The campaign again emphasizes the importance of direct student-administration communication and is focusing on relationships between several branches of campus. 

When focusing on the relationship between students and administration, Howell and McMahan expressed the need for students to be able to speak directly with administrators. They also recognized the role that MSA must play in facilitating this relationship.

One idea that the campaign endorses is “coffee hours” between students and administrators, where administrators would be available to speak with students in high-traffic areas of campus, such as Speaker’s Circle or the MU Student Center. 

“Implementing coffee hours between students and administrators would be honestly a huge step forward for our campus and [create a space where] students are able to come and voice their opinions, voice their concerns [and] voice their ideas directly to them without the middleman,” McMahan said.

As for relationships in the broader community, the slate identified four key points in an Instagram post: Greek life integration, first year student support, supporting identity based organizations and increased student engagement. 

First year support encompasses the campaign’s goal to expand MSA’s First Year Council and provide both students and campus organizations with resources and knowledge. FYC presents an opportunity for students to understand how MSA operates as a student government. 

“First Year Council is designed for students to get to know not only the ropes of MSA, but to be a leader,” Howell said.

With Greek life integration, the campaign acknowledges the importance of making the Greek life experience an enjoyable one for students, where accountability, inclusivity and transparency should be prioritized. The campaign cites McMahan’s involvement in Greek life as giving them a unique perspective.

“Chapters within each group… [should be] holding each other accountable and making sure that Greek life is a safe and inclusive kind of environment for everyone, and that our students’ safety is being prioritized as a whole,” McMahan said.

The MSA election debate will be held on March 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Middlebush Auditorium. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and students are encouraged to send in debate questions for both slates. 

Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Lauren Courtney