February 15, 2022

By Emma Flannery

As Josiah Mendoza began preparing his bid for president of the Missouri Students Association, he said he knew he wanted someone who was going to challenge him: an ideological opposite. 

Mendoza stepped down as president of Mizzou College Republicans on Feb. 15, a position he has held since May 2021.

“I stepped down as President of the College Republicans in order to focus my efforts entirely on Molly and I’s student body campaign,” Mendoza said in an email. “I’m very happy to have left the organization in the capable hands of Grace Renfer, who served as Secretary during my administration.”

Mendoza, a sophomore pursuing a degree in business, has served as president of Mizzou College Republicans since May 2021. Mendoza also served as an MSA senator in 2021. 

“I knew I wanted [my running mate] to be someone who I wasn’t ideologically on the same side with, because inherently we don’t want this to be a political process,” Mendoza said. 

Through a mutual friend in Greek Life, he met Molly Miller. Mendoza is a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, and Miller is in the Pi Beta Phi sorority. 

Miller serves as a congressional intern at the office of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who represents Missouri’s Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives.  She also serves on on Vice Chancellor Bill Stackman’s campus sexual asault task force. Also a sophomore, she is getting her degrees in journalism and international studies, with an emphasis in peace studies. 

Together, Mendoza and Miller said they are looking to rebuild transparency and communication between administrators and students. 

Their campaign, titled ‘Show Me Mizzou,’ has three main pillars: student safety, student support and student service, Mendoza said. 

“Student safety is focusing on issues that we’ve seen on campus a lot,” Miller said. “It has to do with sexual assault, violence on campus … just safety when you’re walking on campus and making sure that it feels like a place that you belong.” 

MU has seen several protests in response to multiple reports of sexual violence. One October protest saw nearly 500 students fill Traditions Plaza, according to the Columbia Missourian. MSA has been involved in the dialogue around sexual assault, conducting a survey last December, which MSA Senate Speaker Lane Cargile said “demonstrated a lack of confidence in the University of Missouri prioritizing safety throughout departments.”

“When it comes to … student service, the biggest thing there is … relationships between students and admin,” Mendoza said. 

The campaign hopes to increase student accessibility to administrators through informal office hours on a biweekly basis. 

“Having a public forum like the Student Center or Memorial Union … where an administrator could come for, you know, 30 minutes to an hour, you know, twice a month and just basically MSA provide like coffee or donuts … and have a coffee hour with administrators,” Miller said. 

As an additional part of student service, Mendoza and Miller hope to strengthen relationships between students. 

“We’re both in Greek life, and we know that that’s a very different experience than a non-Greek student,” Miller said. “And that goes across all kinds of different … identity markers as students.”

As for student support, Mendoza and Miller aim to increase mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion resources for students. Mendoza specifically references the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on mental health.   

“We want to have the resources available for students to access during these times,” Mendoza said. “When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, we want to work on expanding resources for student organizations in relation to that area. And that will be in conjunction with the Multicultural Center and any other identity group on campus.” 

Mendoza wants to highlight the slate’s unbiased approach to policy. 

“We are … trying to run a campaign that’s not centered around Republican politics or Democratic politics. We’re trying to represent the student body,” Mendoza said. “It provides the best future for our students through our apolitical nature and the … tangible nature of our policy.” 

He wants to make sure that, above all, students have faith in their government. 

“We don’t want to be one of those slates running on a college campus that makes outlandish goals that are unachievable and ultimately allow for faith to be lost in student government,” Mendoza said.

Miller views her and Mendoza’s ideological differences as a strength when communicating between students and administrators. 

“We are the slate that’s going to be able to sit in a multitude of rooms and be able to … take that experience and then make it into something we can bring to administrators,” Miller said. 

Her excitement about the election is grounded in the opportunities both will have to grow as students and politicians.  

“I think, personally, we’re both very … excited that this is happening,” Miller said. “I think it’s going to be a big growth experience for both of us. It already has been.”

Edited by Emmet Jamieson | ejamieson@themaneater.com