The Associated Student Body Senate convened for the first formal Senate meeting of the year, virtually, on Tuesday evening. After electing three new members to the Senate body, the Senate passed a series of bills aimed at reforming the way elections are held on campus.
The Senate welcomed two new senators-at-large to fill open Senate seats as well as a Deputy Attorney General of Elections. Hannah Watts and Jen Purcell were sworn in as senators-at-large, and Abby Robeson was sworn in as Deputy Attorney General of Elections.
“During my undergraduate career I was able to serve as my university’s student body president. Now, being a graduate student studying higher education, I want to continue to be an advocate for students at my new home. ASB provides another avenue to advocate for students at the University of Mississippi,” said Purcell. “I want to continue to learn more about the uniqueness of this campus and its body. I feel that there are improvements that can be made to provide more inclusive avenues to achieve success as a student here. I am also interested in exploring new avenues on ways we can make changes when it comes to the structure of the Institutes of Higher Learning here in Mississippi.”
Newly elected senator Hannah Watts also spoke with The Daily Mississippian about her new position in the senate.
“I am beyond excited to become a part of an organization like ASB that actively works to make a difference in the lives of its students. I decided to run for an open seat as a freshman because I wanted to bring more representation for my fellow freshman,” she said. “I am ready to work with my fellow senators to pour into legislation to better our campus.”
In addition, the Senate passed legislation reforming the way elections are conducted. Senate bills 22-1, 22-2 and 22-3 aim to further codify elements of student body elections. This includes banning the use of adhesive materials, like stickers, as campaign giveaways, as well as further codifying tabling rules and the size permitted for campaign signs.
Chair of Governmental Operations Maddy Ryan, an author on all three pieces of legislation, spoke with The Daily Mississippian about why it is important to reform the election process at the university.
“Elections reform is a delicate matter because you don’t want to micromanage and stifle candidates’ creativity or visibility, but you also want to make rules and regulations that reduce the barriers to entry as much as possible,” she said.
Previously, candidates were allowed one sign that could exceed 8.5 by 11 inches, while all other signs had to be smaller, but there was no limit to how large that sign could be. Now, the campaign sign students create for campus-wide elections cannot exceed 72 by 30 inches.
Ryan further explained she feels that elections on the University of Mississippi campus are plagued by unwritten rules and expectations that put some people without an “in” at a disadvantage. Senate bills 22-1 and 22-2 move the student body closer to fixing this problem.
“I often look at our elections and think about the many candidates we could have had — those who had dreams to run for homecoming or ASB elections but felt discouraged by the elitist norm we’ve accepted, that which they either didn’t understand or couldn’t feasibly participate in,” she said.
These revisions come just months ahead of the yearly campus wide elections for senior ASB positions, like president and vice president.
“When writing elections reform legislation, we wanted to come up with solutions that both provide room for future students to rewrite those norms, while also maintaining the tradition, spirit and integrity of our elections,” Ryan said. “I truly believe that the passage of SB 22-1 and SB 22-2 will accomplish those goals this spring election season and beyond.”
