Ahead of the Associated Student Body’s election day on Tuesday, March 26, 14 candidates running for positions on the executive board gathered on Tuesday, March 19, at the Weems Auditorium in the Robert C. Khayat Law Center to answer questions submitted by the student body. The judicial chair candidates mutually decided not to debate, according to Interim Attorney General Sydni Davis.
The candidates sought to differentiate their campaigns as they responded to questions posed by moderator Reese Anderson, copy chief for The Daily Mississippian and senior English and interdisciplinary studies double major. All candidates who hold ASB positions during the 2023-2024 academic year have temporarily stepped down from their positions for the duration of the campaign period.
Throughout the night, a consistent theme included the need to increase transparency and to extend student body involvement in ASB.
Treasurer
The two candidates for treasurer, Eva Reynolds, a junior accounting major, and Elsa Allmendinger, a junior public policy leadership and finance major, kicked off the debate. They advocated for increased outreach from the treasury department to registered student organizations.
“I think (ASB needs to work on) clarifying and making it incredibly clear how to get the funding so that it doesn’t have to be a back and forth and so it becomes a simpler and easier process on the part of the students who are just trying to get money to use,” Allmendinger said of the changes she would make as treasurer.
Reynolds proposed tabling to increase the treasury’s visibility.
“One thing that I want to do as part of the accessibility part of my campaign platform is actually tabling with the clubs,” Reynolds said. “Clubs are tabling the union, they’re tabling the Circle and they’re trying to attract students to join. I would like the treasury to be a part of that.”
Throughout the night, all candidates were asked the same question: “How do you see ASB reaching all students, and how will you help facilitate that?”
Secretary
Candidates for the secretary position, an administrative role that is responsible for maintaining the ASB event calendar, distributing cabinet meeting minutes and maintaining ASB member lists, among other tasks, gave a variety of answers.
Secretary candidate William Pentecost, a sophomore public policy leadership major, advocated to create more opportunities for ASB members to connect with their constituents.
“The first thing is, the ASB 365 this year I think was a huge success,” Pentecost said. “I’d also like to implement more active service projects with different student groups and organizations on campus. I would like to have a monthly (“Meet Your Senator” night) for the (executive board), maybe even for the senate as well.”
Braxton Dagg, the other secretary candidate and current undersecretary of marketing for ASB, spoke of his experience working alongside the ASB secretary. The sophomore integrated marketing communications major highlighted advancements in transparency over the past year, while also advocating for increased accountability and inclusion to continue these improvements.
“We have increased transparency this year. We have completely revised our website,” Dagg said. “But we need to be held accountable for our actions. In addition to that, we also want to be inclusive to all students to attend all ASB events. If you can’t access those, you’re not going to feel welcome.”
Attorney General
A variety of proposals arose in the debate for the office of the attorney general, as the two candidates, Deputy Attorney General of the Code and Constitution Alex Kipping, a junior public policy leadership major, and ASB Senate Chair for the Committee on Governmental Operations Madison Waldrop, a sophomore integrated marketing communications major, proposed a variety of avenues for the office to be more available to students.
“I think that we do a really great job communicating internally. I don’t think that always gets properly communicated with our students externally, and I think a big problem is that maybe we haven’t just found enough outlets to do that,” Kipping said. “Whether that means promoting the student opinion form or having attorney general office hours where (students) are able to come by and visit.”
Waldrop presented some of her own proposals.
“One thing that we can do as the (Department of Justice) is make sure that bills that are dealing with code changes are public before they make it to the senate floor,” Waldrop said. “Another thing that I think will help engage the students is a homecoming candidate forum in the fall, which I think will help students be more engaged in the process.”
Waldrop also shared another idea for campus elections.
“I would like to make it a goal of mine to implement ranked choice voting, which I think not only gives students a better voice, but also gives candidates the opportunity to run where they might not have felt confident enough to run before,” Waldrop said.
Vice President
While the attorney general candidates focused on empowering students to run for campus elections, vice presidential candidates focused on dismantling hierarchies within the senate.
Those running for the position are Legislative Council Chief of Staff Will Griffith, a junior political science major; Presidential Cabinet Chief of Staff Jack Jones, a sophomore economics major; former Sen. Jacks Mitchell, a junior international studies major; and Sen. Omobola Obasanjo, a junior business banking and finance major. Increasing efficiency in the senate, which the vice president presides over, was a major topic of discussion.
“One of the biggest issues within the ASB Senate right now is the overreliance on seniority,” Griffith said. “We see a lot of people get involved in this organization who are incredibly able and incredibly passionate, but because structurally we have to consider the seniority of senators, that makes it a lot harder to get projects done.”
Mitchell concurred, citing his personal experience.
“Throughout my two years in the senate, I believe I’ve noticed that there is a tendency to be a competitive hierarchy,” Mitchell said. “I think that just awarding based on merit would be a good solution to fix that.”
Another topic was ensuring that senators engage with their constituents, which generated a number of ideas.
“A form will go out on day one of office to all leaders and all (registered student organizations) on campus. They will be able to schedule a meeting with either me or their respective senator,” Jones said.
Griffith wanted to turn “Meet Your Senator” into an event resembling the ASB election parties.
“One of the ideas I have is making ‘Meet Your Senator’ more of an event, something with live music or maybe trivia,” Griffith said. “Any of y’all who were around last year for the elections block party, that will be a really good blueprint for how ‘Meet Your Senator’ night could look next year.”
When it came to student outreach, however, Obasanjo came with a different perspective than that of the other candidates, being the only Black candidate running for any position on the executive board.
“Being a minority candidate, I identify with a lot of communities on campus,” Obasanjo said. “I have taken the opportunity to engage with a lot of communities on campus. I will take the time to continue building those relationships. I think the most important thing is to get more people in the room.”
President
The protection of minority groups was a topic of discussion for the presidential candidates as well. The candidates included Attorney General Helen Phillips, a junior public policy leadership major; Secretary Ethan Robertson, a junior political science major; Sen. Jackson Scruggs, a junior public policy leadership major, and Sen. Hannah Watts, a junior English and public policy leadership major. The four offered ideas for protecting minority groups at UM, and Watts provided a personal anecdote about her friend.
“I had a friend run for an open senate seat this past year who voiced the need for more halal food options on campus, and just yesterday I saw (the Muslim Student Association) post that they were able to work with Ole Miss Dining to improve those options, as well as extended hours for Ramadan,” Watts said. “What that has helped me realize is that we need to find different organizations and be working with and incorporating them into ASB.”
Candidates were also asked how they would prevent personal manipulation of the ASB code and constitution for their own gain.
“I’m not that knowledgeable of the code and constitution, so you really don’t have to worry about me using it for my own personal uses,” Robertson said. “I know everything that is written and how to properly understand it all, but I don’t know how to use that for my own benefit.”
Phillips took a different approach, expressing adoration for the constitution and its ability to adapt to circumstances.
“I actually love the code and constitution. It was written to govern the way that we work,” Phillips said. “But it’s also not permanent, and we get to change it. That’s something I’ve loved getting to see.”
The candidates also discussed the important link between sports and the success of the university, a discussion in which Scruggs showcased some of his platform.
“The success of our athletics program is so intertwined with the success of not only this campus, but also the surrounding community,” Scruggs said. “And when it comes to my overall platform on improving the game day experience, it starts with not paying an arm and a leg for basic concessions. The markup on hotdogs and sodas is unreal.”
The election will be decided at the polls on Tuesday.
