Missouri Students Association senate Communications Director Jacob Addington was elected speaker in full senate on March 21.
He ran unopposed, and his inauguration is set for April 11. This means Addington will preside over senate during MSA presidential elections, which are set to be held the week of April 16.
Addington currently serves as the senate communications director, where he was responsible for maintaining MSA’s social media presence as well as the senate website, which included updating the calendar, senate contact info and senate roster.
After he is inaugurated, Addington plans to resign from the position of communications director. Applications for the position opened this week, and he will choose the new director in the coming weeks. The confirmation process for this position is the same as it is for all MSA senators and officers.
Addington was the first student to serve as senate communications director, as defined in bill 57-01. Next year, the position will continue to maintain MSA social media and Addington hopes it will broadcast senate elections because voter turnout for spring senate elections was relatively low.
Tim Davis, campus and community relations committee chair, nominated Addington for speaker because he wants to leave MSA with strong leadership after he graduates this spring.
“I wanted to leave senate with some stable leadership that was able to be approach[ed] by anyone to solve whatever problem they had,” Davis said in an email. “I believe wholeheartedly that Jake is that person. I believe he is going to hold this office to the highest standard that it’s been held in recent years. I can’t wait to watch [as] he grows and works for the students in the coming year.”
When he starts his term, Addington plans to create a liaison program with joint-session student governments by giving them voting seats in senate. He plans to do this to increase representation in MSA.
Addington said that as of right now, MSA senate is not representative of all the students at MU. Bringing in organizations like Missouri International Student Council, which represents international students, will benefit the operation of senate because it will allow for it to better represent the entire student body, he said.
Along with his proposed changes, MSA members think he is well prepared to handle the position.
“Over the last year of knowing Jake I have watched him grow from a shy, quiet person to a person willing to stand up for what they believe and lead from the front instead of criticizing from the back,” Davis said in an email. “He and I have worked closely this year attempting to solve large student problems like the student health center and fee and food insecurity on campus.”
Considering his experience as communications director, members also feel he will be able to adequately engage with and recruit students.
“He has really bolstered engagement with senate through the Twitter account, and I think his ability to engage with the students and recruit students for MSA will be beneficial for the association,” current speaker Taylor Tutin said.
_Edited by Skyler Rossi | srossi@themaneater.com_
