By Isabel Lohman and Mawa Iqbal
April 12, 2018
The presidential candidates for the Missouri Students Association are facing off in their second public debate. Robert Schmidt is running under the Mizzou for You slate and Julia Wopata is running under the More to Roar slate. The Maneater is hosting the debate with moderators Emily Gallion and Skyler Rossi.
You can watch the full debate on our Facebook live.
Editor’s note: Posts appear in reverse chronological order.
Editor’s note April 12 10:26 p.m.: The Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center was incorrectly named in an earlier version of this blog. We apologize for the error.
Stay tuned for live coverage of the MSA presidential debate between Julia Wopata and Robert Schmidt. @mutv23 pic.twitter.com/EcoFWWF4HH
— Veronica Mohesky (@VeronicaMohesky) April 12, 2018
I’m here at the @MSAmizzou Presidential Debate. Follow me and @mutv23 for live updates on the two slates, @moretoroar and Mizzou for You (no Twitter). pic.twitter.com/47Dpnt6w28
— Shoshana Dubnow (@shoshanadubnow) April 12, 2018
The candidates were asked about the recent cut of auxiliaries from MSA.
Wopata is in support of MSA cutting funding for auxiliaries on campus. She said that she was glad the programs were not dropped entirely and were picked up by other areas of campus.
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 12, 2018
In response to a question about MSA dropping auxiliaries, Schmidt says he is in support of the legislation, but would like to see more student input on decisions like these @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
When asked if MSA has an image problem, both candidates said there is an image problem.
In response to the image of MSA, @Julia_Wopata said that she would like to have representatives from “other areas of campus” involved in MSA Senate. @TheManeater
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 12, 2018
Schmidt says that MSA has an image problem and he would work to change it by getting more student input on how MSA spends its money. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
Candidates were asked about budget cuts affecting the social justice centers in the MU Student Center.
Schmidt says, “It’s important to understand that we are all part of this university.” He says that if administrators and students disagree on an issue they can find common ground in their shared love for MU. @mutv23
— Veronica Mohesky (@VeronicaMohesky) April 12, 2018
Schmidt says he would advocate for the budget of social justice centers by using the stories of their successes. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
When asked about funding at MU, @Julia_Wopata said that as MSA president, she would “advocate for student tuition dollars to be put toward academic resources.” @TheManeater
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 12, 2018
In addition, she said that ensuring social justice programs at MU are funded properly comes down to funding and “being an advocate.”
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 12, 2018
Candidates were asked if they were familiar with joint session. Joint session includes ten organizations: Missouri Students Association, Residence Halls Association, the Legion of Black Collegians, Four Front Council, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Multicultural Greek Council, the Graduate Professional Council and the Missouri International Student Council.
From @RHAPresident, “how familiar are you with the organizations of joint session?” Schmidt says he doesn’t know a whole lot about joint session but will learn fast and work hard to make campus better @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
Wopata listed multiple organizations, however, we did not count how many she had listed. You can see this response on the Facebook live stream. We apologize for the error.
Wopata said she has met with some other MSA Executive Cabinet members besides the president. @mutv23
— Shoshana Dubnow (@shoshanadubnow) April 12, 2018
Schmidt says he has not met with any members of the executive cabinet, because he decided to run late and has been busy campaigning. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
Schmidt was asked if he planned on raising money for his campaign since he has not raised any money yet. He said he does not want to ask other students for money because college is expensive as it is. He also said he has used personal funds throughout his campaign.
When asked why the Schmidt/Kahveci slate has not raised any money, Schmidt says
“I think it’s a little absurd to be asking students for money.” @TheManeater— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
When asked about parking, Schmidt said those living on campus should have priority on spots. Wopata said she thinks off-campus students should have priority on spots because it incentivizes them to be involved with their activities.
Wopata said that she believes older, off-campus students should have priority to get parking on-campus as a way of motivating them to get involved and want to stay on-campus for longer. @mutv23
— Shoshana Dubnow (@shoshanadubnow) April 12, 2018
Schmidt says students who live in residence halls should have priority to the parking lots closer to campus. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 12, 2018
When asked about each slate’s campaign finances, Wopata said she hopes her fundraising will increase her slate’s visibility. Schmidt does not want to fundraise from the student body so he is using his own money for their campaign.
Wopata said that through fundraising, the @moretoroar slate has tried to be visible on campus in order to increase voter turnout from the previous year. @mutv23
— Shoshana Dubnow (@shoshanadubnow) April 13, 2018
Schmidt said, “My campaign is spending some money, but I just want to clarify that it’s my money.”@mutv23
— Veronica Mohesky (@VeronicaMohesky) April 13, 2018
Both candidates were asked to offer praise and/or criticism of the current MSA executive branch. Schmidt was critical of its efforts to represent the student body, while Wopata was critical of its transparency.
Schmidt says he would like to see a greater commitment that everyone on campus is represented in MSA. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
Wopata said she would critique MSA for not having been as open and transparent with the overall student body at MU. She said she’d continue with ensuring her term as MSA president is as transparent as possible. @TheManeater
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 13, 2018
Wopata and Schmidt have different goals for combating the stigma associated with mental health issues and awareness.
.@Julia_Wopata said she wants to interconnect student organizations on campus and increase visibility in terms of mental health on campus. @TheManeater
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 13, 2018
Speaking to incoming freshman about the stresses of college will help change students’ perception of mental health issues, Schmidt says. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
Both candidates mentioned mental health education when talking about sexual assault education. Wopata said she had met with the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center.
She also said that’s spoken with the It’s On Us Mizzou organization and ensuring that it’s not “ignored.” @TheManeater
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 13, 2018
Wopata and Schmidt discuss ways they have served MU.
Wopata from @moretoroar said that the three things she has done to make MU better are: 1. doing undergraduate research 2. serving on her sorority’s executive board 3. serving as a website developer for Roots, a student-run business @mutv23
— Shoshana Dubnow (@shoshanadubnow) April 13, 2018
Schmidt says the most obvious thing that he does to serve Mizzou is serving as a @cafnr ambassador. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
He also says he attends city council meetings and writes his local representatives.
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
Wopata asked Shmidt if he believes he has a good understanding of the time commitment and responsibility of the presidential role. Schmidt said you can question his knowledge of MSA, but you can not question his commitment. He also cited Columbia being his hometown as a reason why he is especially committed to student success at MU.
In response to a question by @Julia_Wopata, Schmidt says he “certainly knows more than [he] did a month ago” about MSA. “You can question my knowledge and experience of MSA, but you can’t question my commitment.” @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
Schmidt asked Wopata how she will reach out to students who don’t really have the time to be involved in campus organizations. Wopata said that every student has their foot in the door in at least one organization. Statistically, their campaign can hit most people if they do target those involved on campus.
Julia’s response is that she’s been able to make friends not involved in Greek life or within her major social circle. She said she wants to have more representation through joint session.
— Stephi Smith (@SmithStephi) April 13, 2018
The event ended with closing statements from each candidate.
That closes the last @MSAmizzou presidential debate. Voting opens April 16 and closes the 18. @TheManeater
— caitlyn (@caitlynrosen) April 13, 2018
