In addition to crowning Caleb Ball as Homecoming King, the Associated Student Body announced campus favorites, class maids and runoff elections for Homecoming Queen and Mr. Ole Miss and Miss Ole Miss Tuesday night on the steps of the Lyceum.
Runoff elections will be held today, Thursday, Sept. 19 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Students can vote in myOleMiss for Miss Ole Miss, Mr. Ole Miss and Homecoming Queen. The winners will be announced at 7:30 p.m at the Lyceum.
The Miss Ole Miss runoff candidates are Madeline Mueller and Betsy Vise. Competing for Mr. Ole Miss are Jakota White and Santino Rocchio.
Abby Johnson and Vanessa “Nessa” Bonner are in the runoff for Homecoming Queen.
The 10 campus favorites elected Tuesday are Julianna Barrack, Sally Kate Dabney, Brooke Bradley, Caroline Brock, Mary Addison Gregory, Xenia Minton, Victoria Nowell, Lydia Snopek, Mollie Wright and Anne York
Emily Deutsch won the freshman maid election with 42.91% of the vote. Emma Simpson was elected sophomore maid with 21.15% of the vote. Zoey Swan won junior maid with 25.57% of the vote. Kate Downs won senior maid with 28.79% of the vote.
Some candidates spoke about today’s runoff.
“I’m just so thankful for all the support and love I’ve received so far,” Bonner, a senior forensic chemistry major, said. “The fact that I was even nominated for (Homecoming Queen) is such an honor. … I am so thankful for where I’m at right now.”
Johnson, also a Homecoming Queen runoff candidate, encouraged students to stay involved in the election process until the end.
“I am honored and humbled to be in contention for Homecoming Queen to represent the Ole Miss and Oxford communities. I hope people continue to feel my love, leadership and ‘lead the way,’ as my slogan states, by voting in the runoff election,” Johnson, a senior integrated marketing communications major, said.
Mr. Ole Miss runoff candidate White, a senior integrated marketing major, spoke about his plan moving forward.
“I’m gonna do all I can do,” White said. “And all I can do is all I can do.”
Rocchio, a senior accounting major, is also in the running for Mr. Ole Miss.
“I am excited, and it has been great seeing all the support from my peers around me,” Rocchio said.
Mueller, a Miss Ole Miss runoff candidate, is appreciative of all of the support she has received.
“I feel just so grateful to be here. I could not have even imagined being in this position in the first place, so I am really filled with gratitude to go into (today) … and see how we can keep celebrating and highlighting opportunities for students,” Mueller, a senior psychology major, said.
Vise, a senior Arabic and international studies double major, is running against Mueller in today’s election for Miss Ole Miss.
“Going into the runoff, I’m just excited to meet more people tabling and continue to run a campaign that represents all the joy I’ve felt at Ole Miss so far. I’m grateful to have made it this far and it’s really unbelievable it ends (today),” Vise said. “The support these past two weeks has felt unreal. I’ve got a million thank you notes to write when this is all over to all the people who’ve made this campaign possible.”
Some of the winners shared how they felt after the announcements.
“It feels really amazing (to be elected). I come from a really small town and rural Mississippi, and this place has made me who I am today, and every person I’ve met here has made me feel like this place is my home. It just means the world to me, and it is such an honor,” Ball, senior political science major, said.
Victoria Nowell, a campus favorite and senior integrated marketing communications major, spoke about how she is excited to continue a family tradition.
“My parents went to school here. … My mother, Lisa Nowell, was also a campus favorite for the class of 1995, so I am honored to continue that legacy,” Nowell said.
Campus Favorite Xenia Minton, an integrated marketing communications major, expressed her gratitude for being able to give back to the UM campus.
“I’m really honored. … I have loved giving back to campus the past three years, and I love getting to meet so many amazing, incredible people and be involved in lots of the amazing organizations on campus,” Minton said.
Freshman Maid Deutsch, an integrated marketing communications major, said that she is excited to represent the class of 2028.
“Tonight was unbelievable. I am so excited. My platform was ‘encourage others,’ and honestly I have never felt that platform so much. The class of 2028 really pursued (the platform), and I’m just so excited to represent them at homecoming,” Deutsch said.
Senior Maid Downs, an accountancy major, was equally excited.
“I’m just so elated. I’ve been a fan of this university my entire life. Normally I’m not the one to be the face of a campaign, but Ole Miss is truly the one place where I would do this,” Downs said. “It has been so incredible to have this support from everyone, and I’m so excited. This has been truly the best week ever, and I will never forget this.”
After the announcements, senior public policy leadership major and ASB Attorney General Alex Kipping expressed her pride in the candidates.
“Huge congratulations! I’m so proud of everybody who participated in this process. It’s grueling, and it’s draining, but I think the event here tonight showed why it’s all worth it,” Kipping said. “(To the runoff candidates), just hang in there for a couple more days and revel in the celebration on Thursday.”
