Four new senators were sworn in on Tuesday, Sept. 13, during the first formal Associated Student Body senate meeting of the academic year.
Wils Davis, Kaylee Goff, Andrew (A.J.) Heskett and Jack Jones won open-seat elections. All four senators said they are ready to get to work.
ASB Vice President Alex Nabors led the meeting as 11 candidates gave short speeches hoping to secure one of four open seats. Candidates waited outside the chambers as senators debated and endorsed which of the group they believed best fit the role.
Once votes were in, Davis, Goff, Heskett and Jones came back into the chambers to be sworn in.
During the debate, Goff’s name came up in nearly every senator’s comments. Her resume and stage presence caught the attention of the senators, who frequently commented on the fact that Goff was the only woman out of the 11 candidates.
After the meeting concluded, Goff, a freshman public policy leadership major, told the DM she is ready to enact meaningful legislation.
“My plans for ASB are to enact legislation, to advocate for the students and keep the best interest of Ole Miss in my heart,” Goff said.
Davis, a freshman public policy leadership and economics major, said he hopes to become the voice of the freshman while serving as a senator.
“I know there’s not really a lot of freshmen on the senate. I think this year they have three,” Davis said. “I’ve just been trying to meet a lot of people and see what’s going on.”
Jones, a freshman economics major, said he is looking forward to making some much-needed progress after the isolation brought on by COVID-19.
“I think we’ve been shut down for so long due to COVID, so I want to provide as many opportunities to make up lost time that we haven’t had in a couple years,” Jones said.
Heskett, a junior and the only upperclassman in the group, hopes to increase representation for his major’s department, computer science.
“We need more funding in different areas, so we could really take the next step over the next few years,” Heskett said. “I just saw the opportunity to be the person to help them make that step.”
After a brief break, ASB will reconvene in October to get to work, writing and passing legislation.
