In an effort to further integrate the two campus communities together, MSU’s Student Association Senate passed Bill 8 last Tuesday, effectively creating a new position on the Executive Council and giving the students in Meridian representation in the SA senate.
The new position, Director of Meridian Affairs, will facilitate the selection process for the Meridian Cabinet and oversee SA activities on Meridian’s campus.  In addition, the bill will allow one Senator to represent the Meridian Campus. 
Students of MSU Starkville and MSU Meridian will now both be represented under the same Starkville campus’ Student Association. 
SA President Jojo Dodd said he sees  this as an opportunity to further ties between the two campuses. Dodd said representation in the SA is just one facet of a larger effort to give the students in Meridian a mutual sense of identity as a Mississippi State student. Dodd also said this idea has been long in the works with administration but is just now coming to fruition. 
“We asked ourselves ‘Can we better the campus in Meridian?’ and the answer was a resounding yes,” Dodd said. “ We have a lot of resources, insight and knowledge that we want to bring to their campus.” Dodd said this includes getting them involved in the events and projects in Starkville.
 It was not until recently that Meridian students were even allowed to purchase student tickets to MSU home games.
Prior to this bill, students of Meridian had their own separate student government. Over the past few months, leaders from both schools have been working out the new framework which included dissolving Meridian’s SA. 
Meridian has a high student turnover rate, which makes it harder to carry out student government projects over a long period of time. Now formally part of the Starkville campus’ SA, Dodd said this will no longer be a problem. He said he believes a long established and well-functioning SA will better serve those students. The new position Director of Meridian Affairs, which will be filled by a Meridian student, will allow the SA to effectively respond to their campus needs, and Meridian now will now be able to pull from resources they previously did not have have access to. 
Over the course of the next year, the SA will lay the foundation for long-lasting and efficient work in Meridian. Dodd said he is optimistic and by involving Meridian students in Starkville’s SA there will be greater opportunity for Meridian students to serve their campus. Dodd said Meridian students should see more activities and events soon.  
Dodd said the ultimate goal is to emphasize Meridian’s unity with the Starkville campus, while preserving its unique culture and traditions.
 “We want them to feel like Mississippi State is more than just a 9-5, that they have ownership of the history and traditions and that they are a part of Mississippi State just like any student in Starkville,” Dodd said.
Meghan Millea, interim administration  dean and professor, has worked with the SA on the project.
“The new structure of the SA is a great opportunity to have the students at the two campuses more closely connected,” Millea said. “We are one university with two campuses this coordination reinforces that relationship.” 
The new Director of Meridian Affairs is to be selected and inducted sometime this week on the Meridian campus.