Bearcat Voice

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[[Image:Bearcat_Voice_2002.jpg|thumb|Members of the Bearcat Voice Leadership, 2002.]]
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The '''Bearcat Voice''' is a [[student society|student organization]] at [[Northwest Missouri State University]].

The Bearcat Voice mission statement is to "work towards securing a student voice and student empowerment with the guidance of the student body. Bearcat Voice values are defined as: improving conditions of the students to make authorized decisions; and ensuring and securing a student voice."

The Bearcat Voice was founded [[January 24]], [[2002]] during a meeting of students organized by then Northwest Missouri State University students Ryan Bauer, Janson M. Thomas and John Lakebrink. Bearcat Voice is based upon the [[Bulldog Party]], a student organization at [[Truman State University]]. It was born at Northwest out of the zeal of its leaders to have a student government that was [[Progressive Era|progressive]] and [[Efficiency Movement|efficient]]. The founders of the Bearcat Voice believed that the student government had grown stagnant to the needs of the students it served. They sought to identified problems and fixed them. This was achieved by a [[grassroots]] campaign which brought to Bearcat Voice, students who would otherwise not choose to become involved in student government. These students pooled their various talents and developed action plans that were stated on a document known as the [[party platform|platform]].

Initially the Bearcat Voice acted as a student [[political party]] running Slates of candidates for [[student government]] and implementing student government support for the [[Student Association of Missouri]]. It now as turned to mostly advocacy of student issues on the campus and ceased with support for individual candidates.

Bearcat Voice achieved two noteworthy legislative victories that has opened the door to a more accountable student government at Northwest. In September 2002 in a student body vote, the students ratified two amendments to the SGA constitution that were proposed and campaigned on by Bearcat Voice. The first amendment was known as Proposition A it successfully opened the door for legislative accountability by ensuring the right of five members to call a [[Recorded vote|roll call vote]] which previously had never happened in the student senate. The second amendment known as Proposition U enabled the student body to rule more directly and circumvent a sometimes ineffiective student senate, by establishing the rights of [[Initiative]], [[Referendum]], and [[Recall election|Recall]].

Bearcat Voice is named after the Northwest Missouri State University [[mascot]], the [[bearcat]].

==External links==

[[Category:United States student societies]]
[[Category:Northwest Missouri State University]]