On Friday afternoon, as the Square prepared to host tens of thousands of visitors for Double Decker, a mile away, the newly-elected Associated Student Body leadership was inaugurated.
Standing on a raised platform in front of the Lyceum, Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks implored the new officers to prioritize the university before personal gain.
“Direct your full focus and energy toward leading our student community,” Sparks said. “You are the student leaders who will help us shape the future.”
President Barron Mayfield, Vice President Charlotte Shackelford, Secretary Hannah Chauvin, Treasurer Gianna Schuetz, Judicial Chair Liza Boyer and Attorney General Austin Fiala were all sworn in to their new positions.
Outgoing ASB President Elam Miller also spoke at the ceremony. Miller said the executive officers he worked with over the past school year accomplished a lot and are leaving a lasting legacy on campus. Miller also noted that the new executive officers have big shoes to fill.
“I urge you to outdo us in every way possible,” Miller said. “Take what we have done and grow it exponentially.”
Mayfield, who was elected earlier this month after receiving 53.48% of the vote in a runoff election, ran on the campaign promise of ensuring representation on the state college board.
He also said he wants to focus on increasing the students activities fee starting next fall, doubling the fee to 20 dollars.
“The amount that we would be able to do for students on campus by doubling the amount of money, the budget that we’re able to distribute to these organizations, that would do a lot,” Mayfield said.
Shackelford said the first thing she’s going to do is to make decisions about who should serve on her legislative council. She finished interviewing candidates for her legislative council last Friday and plans to make her final decisions today.
The legislative council serves under the vice president and is comprised of eight positions ranging from legislation monitor to Senate campus liaison. Their primary charge is to liaise between the executive branch and the Senate and ensure that passed legislation is properly enacted.
Shackelford said that she plans on increasing transparency between the Senate and the university by reaching out to the student body more often than has been done in the past.
“I’ve planned on having a newsletter go out to registered student organization presidents,” Shackelford said. “I’ve been working on figuring out whether or not we should use something— just in general what’s the best way to get things done.”
Mayfield added that he also wants to revise the ASB Code and Constitution, starting with the election portion, in order to make the inner workings of ASB more accessible to every student.
“The whole code needs a reformat, but I want to rewrite places here and there to make it more easy to understand,” Mayfield said. “There are places in the elections part of the code that contradict themselves.”
Mayfield said he’s not going to waste any time, and that he’s going to get to work immediately this summer.
“We’ll probably spend a lot of the summer, obviously, planning events and programming and stuff like that, spend a lot of time researching that rewrite of the code,” Mayfield said. “As the fall gets underway and we get students back on campus, we’ll really see how they’re feeling about the student activities fee.”
In parting, Miller wished the new officers luck as they begin their new leadership roles.
“I hope you are ready to surpass us. I hope you’re ready to live by the Creed closely, to put others’ needs ahead of your own, and to love the University of Mississippi fiercely, protectively, wholly, even as you acknowledge that it can always be improved,” Miller said.
