It has been a long road to get here, but I am so excited to welcome you all to the University of Mississippi on behalf of the Associated Student Body. Whether it is your first year on our campus or, like me, your last, I am thrilled to have you join our campus community and to experience everything our unique home has to offer.
The mission of the Associated Student Body is to serve selflessly and to represent justly the needs of our student body. Your needs and your voices matter, and we want to ensure that we are providing the platform and resources to legitimize student advocacy at the highest levels. We believe that student voices should be the cornerstone of decision-making at the University of Mississippi.
In addition to this, we develop initiatives and programming to advocate for and connect with students in new ways. We are excited to continue ASB 365, a programming initiative that began last year. We will be on the Union Plaza every other week collaborating with other student organizations not only to plan fun activities, but to also raise awareness for important matters on our campus. Also, we are looking forward to increasing accessibility and inclusion both in our organization and throughout the University. We cannot solve the numerous issues that lie before us without creating a community of collaboration and coordination with other organizations on our campus. Whether we’re on the Union Plaza for ASB 365 or in the auditorium for Meet Your Senator Night, we hope you will stop by what is or isn’t working for you on our campus.
Lastly, I want to remind you all of the University of Mississippi Creed. The Creed states our beliefs in many ideals that we should strive to uphold, such as academic freedom and fairness and civility, but I would like to call your attention to the parts of the Creed that relate to our community. Respect and dignity, fairness and civility, and good stewardship of our resources will all be essential to rehabilitating our campus community while we are still managing life in a pandemic. As voluntary members of this community, we have the responsibility to care about those around us. We must take responsibility for our personal actions when they have very tangible community consequences. Wear your mask, get the vaccine, and help us protect our home. Our individual choices will determine what the rest of this year looks like. There is so much to look forward to this year, whether it’s the Grove, Homecoming, or even just in person classes. All these exciting opportunities are contingent upon the choices we make now. We are going to do everything in our power as an organization to make this year as normal as possible, and we need our students to make the choice to protect your community and your college experience.
Hotty Toddy and Welcome Home,
Morgan Atkins
