Adya Praveen and Saige Drake compete today for Homecoming Queen in a run-off election after none of the four Homecoming Queen candidates received over 50% of the student body vote during Tuesday’s election. Students will vote for the Homecoming Queen today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Also today, another round of voting will be held for Freshman Maid, Sophomore Maid, Junior Maid and Senior Maid. During the announcement of Homecoming and Personality election winners on Tuesday evening, Associated Student Body Attorney General Madison Waldrop indicated voting irregularities in those races would be investigated.
In a statement posted on the ASB’s Instagram account on Wednesday, Waldrop said, “Tuesday afternoon, the ASB Department of Justice was notified of a possible glitch in the myOleMiss system allowing certain students to vote in multiple Homecoming Maid races. The ASB Code and Constitution only permits students to vote in one Homecoming Maid race. The potential glitch put the integrity and validity of Tuesday’s Homecoming Maid races in question. After consultation with my team and our advisors, we decided there was no choice but to hold a new vote for the Homecoming Maid races this Thursday, Oct. 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.”
Students can vote in the Homecoming Queen and Homecoming Maid races on their myOleMiss accounts. The results will be released tonight after voting closes.
The candidates and their respective teams were allotted two more days to table on the Union Plaza as a part of the run-off election. Praveen and Drake were both invigorated going into the run-off election day.
Praveen and Drake’s success, however, would not be possible without the support of their campaign teams who assisted with tabling, created campaign materials and represented the candidates and their messages.
Ella Rossi, a sophomore majoring in public policy leadership and journalism from Shreveport, La., served on Praveen’s campaign team.
“It’s really easy to want to support (Praveen). Seeing her heart behind this election and her whole campaign has been so awesome,” Rossi said. “She’s really just wanting to connect with different people across campus and encourage everyone to fall in love with Ole Miss.”
Livi Matulich, a senior integrated marketing communications major from Atlanta, was a member of Drake’s campaign team.
“Saige is one of my best friends, and she would do anything for me, and I want to be there and support her and show her light to others around campus,” Matulich said. “(I want to) help her show her story and what it’s all about and why she’s here and why Ole Miss is so positive and uplifting.”
Winners of the Mr. Ole Miss, Miss Ole Miss and Homecoming King elections were announced on the steps of the Lyceum after a three-hour delay in results tabulation Tuesday night. Ryan Augustine was named Mr. Ole Miss, Riley Dellenger was named Miss Ole Miss and Terrell Atkins was named Homecoming King.
Augustine attributed his victory to his faith and community support.
“I’m just in disbelief. This community has just shown up for me in so many ways,” Augustine said. “This is because of God. This is not because of me. I genuinely did not do anything; it was all because of Jesus.
Dellenger said she was filled with gratitude after being named Miss Ole Miss.
“I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude, and Ole Miss is just a place that lifts everyone of us up,” Dellenger said.
Atkins expressed honor for being selected as Homecoming King by his peers.
“I’m so happy. I’m so excited. All the support from everybody here means the world, and I can just feel the energy radiating through me right now,” Atkins said. “I’m so ecstatic and so honored.”
Suzie Brown, Aubrey Bubrig, McKenzie Cox, Caitlyn Culpepper, Braxton Dagg, Mia Powe, Celie Rayburn, Sarah Liza Stockett, Makayla Smith and Evelyn Thornton were announced as the 10 campus favorites.
The ASB Constitutional Amendment SR-8 was passed, effectively changing the qualifications for ASB Vice President for future ASB elections.
The new amendment allows eligibility for vice presidential candidates who have served a minimum of one term in either the legislative branch or the president’s cabinet of the ASB prior to the time of taking office. Previously, candidates must have served a minimum of one term as an elected member of the senate or one term as parliamentarian or legislation monitor on the executive council of a previous vice president.
